IHEVICTORIOUS  FATIH 

~ORATIO   W.  DRESSER 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


GIFT  OF 


FLORENCE  DAVEY  DE  SPAIN 


THE 

VICTORIOUS    FAITH 

MORAL     IDEALS     IN     WAR     TIME 


BY 

HORATIO  W.  DRESSER,  Ph.D. 

author  of 
"the  power  of  silence"  etc. 


HARPER  y   BROTHERS  PUBLISHERS 

NEW   YORK   AND   LONDON 


The  Victorious  Faith 


Copyright,   1917,  by  Harper  &  Brothers 
Printed  in  the  United   States  of  America 
Published  September,  191 7 

H-K 


VV  z  ■"'  ^ 


^-  J, 


A 


CONTENTS 

CHAP.  PAQE 

Foreword v 

I.  The  Sources  of  Faith 1 

II.  Tendencies  of  the  Age 22 

III.  The  Psychology  of  War 43 

IV.  The  Higher  Resistance 66 

V.  The  Moral  Values 88 

VI  .    The  New  Idea  of  God 121 

VII.  Christianity  in  War-time 115 

VIII.  The  Pathway  of  Faith       171 

IX.  Spiritual  Democracy 198 


\ 


682819 


FOREWORD 

This  book  is  issued  with  the  conviction  that 
we  may  well  give  less  attention  to  war  as  an 
external  enterprise  and  regard  it  in  the  light  of 
its  bearings  on  the  whole  life  of  man.  For  man 
the  individual  no  doubt  bears  relation  to  the 
nations  in  their  throes  and  successes,  and  there 
must  be  values  of  great  moment  on  the  inner  or 
human  side  of  the  events  which  war  has  forced 
upon  our  attention.  Furthermore,  both  men 
and  nations  do  under  pressure,  in  times  of  stress 
and  peril,  what  they  apparently  cannot  accom- 
plish in  times  of  peace.  The  war  has  been 
uncommonly  fruitful  in  this  respect.  It  has 
brought  us  even  amidst  the  uncertainties  and 
the  miseries  new  evidences  of  moral  and  spiritual 
faith.  The  same  facts  which  at  first  baffled  us 
have  proved  illuminating  in  so  far  as  we  have 
gained  the  inner  point  of  view.  What  we  now 
need  is  a  yet  greater  impetus  to  gather  up  the 
human  lessons  and  learn  their  bearings  on  the 
things  of  the  spirit. 


FOREWORD 

Life,  we  know,  is  given  under  conditions. ' 
These  we  usually  regard  from  the  outside,  as  in 
the  case  of  unfortunate  inheritances,  a  degrading 
environment,  the  trying  circumstances  under 
which  many  of  us  work.  We  may  continue 
to  focus  on  these  conditions  until  they  yield 
a  point  of  view  of  the  whole  of  life,  or  we  may 
begin  anew  with  the  human  spirit  and  the  atti- 
tudes it  adopts,  its  power  of  initiation  and  suc- 
cess. Too  often  in  our  day  the  point  of  view  we 
accept  presently  leads  to  some  kind  of  determin- 
ism. We  say,  for  example,  that  everything 
depends  upon  the  existing  social  or  economic 
order;  we  declare  that  money  is  king,  and  regard 
history  as  a  mere  record  of  successive  oppres- 
sions. Or  we  emphasize  heredity  and  our  early 
training,  and  conclude  that  there  is  little  hope 
of  change.  Thus  in  war-time  the  threatening 
forces  seem  to  gather  more  and  more  menacingly 
about  us.  Doubtless  many  people  have  tried 
to  stop  thinking  about  the  war,  at  a  loss  to  find 
any  way  through. 

Yet,  without  ignoring  the  facts  or  making 
light  of  them,  there  is  a  wholly  different  ap- 
proach. The  life  which  is  given  under  condi- 
tions is  partly  the  affirmative  life  of  the  soul^ 
For  we  all  take  up  attitudes  for  better  or  worse. 


/ 


FOREWORD 

even  when  we  borrow  our  determinisms.  We 
all  applaud  success,  some  kind  of  success,  declar- 
ing that  "the  occasion  makes  the  man."  Why 
then  should  we  not  give  more  attention  to  the 
process  whereby  the  human  spirit  becomes  tri- 
umphant .^^  W^hy  should  we  continue  to  praise 
the  tangible  result  when  what  we  truly  esteem 
is  the  invincible  spirit  which  brooks  no  obstacle 
and  pauses  only  to  push  forward  to  yet  greater 
achievements.''  WTiy  not  enlarge  our  faith  to 
the  proportions  of  our  inner  resources,  putting 
fresh  estimates  upon  all  the  elements  of  life,  in 
peace  and  war,  in  leisure  and  service? 

There  are,  in  fact,  at  least  three  types  of  suc- 
cess, hence  three  different  attitudes  we  might 
adopt.  The  first  takes  its  clue  from  what 
appears,  then  stops  with  history  as  it  develops, 
as  if  all  that  men  care  for  were  the  things  that 
perish.  Its  partisans  dedicate  their  souls  to 
physical  force  as  to  a  god,  while  the  timid  dev- 
otees fear  lest  we  shall  be  overwhelmed  by 
"the  survival  of  the  strongest."  The  second 
point  of  view  grows  out  of  the  attempt  to  find 
a  way  of  escape  by  evading  facts  and  affirming 
whatever  one  wants  to  believe,  or  cashes  the 
populace  to  adopt.  The  war  in  one  of  its  aspects 
was  from  the  start  a  huge  attempt  to  use  this 


FOREWORD 

method  of  affirmation.  The  true  way,  so  we 
hold,  Is  to  observe  widely,  learn  all  significant 
facts,  denying  nothing;  and  then  find  a  way  to 
interpret  which  is  true  to  what  is  right,  to  the 
human  values  and  the  rich  compensations. 
Viewed  in  this  light,  the  war  from  the  start  was 
a  process  of  moral  purification  on  a  universal 
scale,  implying  human  freedom,  and  the  power 
to  find  a  higher  mode  of  life  than  that  dictated 
by  the  gods  of  force.  Viewed  in  this  light,  what 
we  need  above  all  is  deeper  knowledge  of  human 
nature,  more  determined  effort  to  sound  every 
difficulty  to  its  foundation.  The  result  should 
be  an  adoption  of  the  affirmative  attitude,  not 
in  the  sense  of  desperate  assertion,  not  the 
psychological  device  which  is  calculated  to 
mislead,  or  the  promise  no  one  intends  to  keep; 
but  faith  in  the  triumphant  self,  in  man  achiev- 
ing. Such  knowledge  is  indeed  "power,"  for 
it  discloses  "the  moral  equivalent  for  war,"  it 
points  the  way  to  a  constructive  ideal  of  society. 
We  hold,  further,  that  mental  life  regarded  in 
this  wide  sense  is  a  meeting-point  for  many  who 
could  not  agree  on  any  other  basis.  Thus  we 
may  learn  even  from  our  enemies  without 
rancor;  from  their  mental  efficiency,  their  patri- 
otism,   unanimity,    and    power   of   organizing. 


FOREWORD 

Thus  we  may  find  the  way  at  last  to  that  most 
diflScult  attaimnent:  the  bringing  together  of 
those  hberal,  peace-loving,  and  other  enlight- 
ened individuals  so  hard  to  organize,  so  inclined 
to  stand  apart  in  mere  liberty  of  conscience; 
those,  too,  who  make  progress  in  a  democracy 
like  our  own  so  difficult  by  their  insistence  on  a 
personal  point  of  view.  In  the  end,  too,  we 
should  have  more  knowledge  of  law,  the  law  of 
the  cycles  of  development  through  which  pass 
individuals  and  nations.  What  is  imperative 
for  the  moment  is  readiness  to  follow  our  con- 
structive clue  to  definite  results,  to  become 
more  concrete  and  practical,  while  no  less  strong 
in  our  idealism.  This  approach  to  the  matter 
will  become  more  clear  when  we  turn,  in  the 
first  chapter,  to  an  analysis  of  the  nature  and  the 
sources  of  faith. 


THE    VICTORIOUS   FAITH 


THE    VICTORIOUS    FAITH 


THE  SOURCES  OF     FAITH 

WHAT  shall  the  devotee  of  the  spiritual 
life  say  and  do  when  the  god  of  war 
stalks  over  the  broad  fields  of  earth,  leaving 
ruin  and  desolation  behind  him?  Shall  he 
draw  his  mantle  across  his  face  and  refuse  to 
see  the  wreckage  and  the  misery?  Like  Elijah 
of  old,  shall  he  seek  out  a  lonely  cave  in  the 
safety  of  the  mountains  wherein  to  hide  in 
meditative  discouragement,  saddened  because 
his  idealism  seems  of  no  avail?  Shall  he  insist 
that  the  realities  of  the  spirit  have  naught  to 
do  with  the  things  of  this  world?  Or  shall  he 
seek  amidst  these  things  new  signs  of  the  eternal 
values? 

In  the  following  pages  we  hope  to  show  that 


THE   VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

for  the  lover  of  his  fellow-men  and  of  his  eternal 
Father  there  can  be  but  one  answer.  He  who 
has  hitherto  walked  in  the  secure  pathways  of 
peace  is  responsible  with  the  rest.  The  vital 
issues  astir  to-day  have  made  the  nations  one. 
On  every  side  there  are  evidences  of  a  new 
awakening.  The  harvest  truly  is  plenteous  for 
those  who  believe  in  ideals,  for  the  disciple  of 
the  inner  life.  The  appeal  never  was  so  strong 
to  those  able  to  contribute  the  elements  of 
constructive  faith.  Every  issue  disclosed  by  the 
war  is  fraught  with  moral  and  spiritual  meaning. 
Hence  it  is  not  a  time  for  timid  enthusiasm  or 
absentee  optimism. 

We  hope  also  to  show  the  need  of  a  pliilosophy 
differing  at  many  points  from  that  of  the  typical 
advocate  of  peace  or  of  preparedness.  We  need 
moral  and  spiritual  preparedness  far-reaching 
and  profound.  We  need  to  examine  anew  our 
belief  in  God,  in  the  human  soul  with  its 
propensities  and  talents,  its  hopes  of  immor- 
tality. We  need  a  method  of  thought  to  face 
new  conditions  with  efficient  hope.  Above  all, 
we  need  a  surer  idealism  grounded  in  knowledge 
of  fact,  in  the  interpretation  of  things  as  they 
are.  Such  idealism  may  be  called  a  victori- 
ous faith  rather  than  a  religion  or  philosophy 

2 


THE  SOURCES  OF  FAITH 

alone,  since  we  still  see  in  part  only,  while 
needing  more  secure  knowledge  of  natural 
facts  and  laws  than  religion  ordinarily  in- 
cludes. 

The  life  of  faith  approached  in  this  larger 
spirit  is  very  nearly  the  most  beautiful  element 
of  human  history,  and  it  is  in  every  way  the 
most  inspiring.  Commonly  we  assign  the  high- 
est place  to  love.  Love  transfigures  the  soul 
and  makes  us  most  nearly  akin  to  God.  But 
God  apparently  does  not  need  faith,  at  least 
not  in  the  sense  in  which  we  mortals  supplement 
our  scant  knowledge  and  short-sighted  visions. 
Love  in  the  human  sense  is  often  too  inti- 
mately personal  for  general  discussion,  but 
faith  is  in  large  measure  public.  Faith  in 
brief  is  love  triumphant;  the  love  of  the  mother 
who  believes  in  her  offspring  despite  all  testi- 
monies to  the  contrary;  the  love  which  makes 
martyrs,  heroes,  leaders,  where  apparently  only 
commonplace  people  dwelt  before.  Faith  dis- 
covers new  worlds  in  the  face  of  utter  dis- 
couragement and  skepticism.  It  unifies  a  down- 
trodden class,  a  despoiled  nation,  a  persecuted 
race.  Spurred  on  by  necessity,  it  calls  victory 
out  of  apparent  defeat  and  ruin.     Joined  with 

the  intellect,  it  leads  the  way  to  scientific  truth. 

3 


THE   VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

In  religion  it  often  becomes  the  greater  as 
tribulation  Increases. 

Yet  as  marvelous  as  the  tale  is  which  faith 
unfolds  throughout  the  ages,  faith  has  often 
stood  apart  in  subjectivity  or  other  worldliness. 
Apparently  its  prophets  and  eulogists  needed  to 
isolate  themselves  to  keep  the  vision  without 
which  the  peof)le  shall  perish.  Thus  the  func- 
tion of  its  religious  partisans  has  been  to  pre- 
serve the  creeds  while  the  workers  of  the  world 
were  absorbed  in  the  tasks  at  hand.  Our 
times  are  changing  all  this.  Faith  is  winning 
new  victories,  holding  out  new  hopes,  inspiring 
new  courage.  Men  and  women  are  now  keep- 
ing the  vision  even  amidst  the  darkest  facts  the 
world  has  ever  been  compelled  to  face. 

In  the  light  of  this  new  spirit,  let  us  declare 
that  there  is  a  faith  for  every  occasion,  a  re- 
ligion equal  to  every  emergency,  a  philosophy 
\by  which  to  think  our  way  through  the  most 
startling  events  of  the  new  time.  To  make 
this  statement  is,  to  be  sure,  to  make  yet 
another  venture  in  behalf  of  faith,  hence  to 
open  the  discussion  to  adverse  criticism.  We 
nuiy  as  well  consider  certain  objections  before 
we  turn  to  a  study  of  present  tendencies  giving 
promise  of  faith. 

4 


THE   SOURCES  OF  FAITH 

It  will  be  said  that  no  one  is  able  to  meet  the 
needs  of  all  minds,  hence  we  shall  still  be 
driven  from  pillar  to  post.  There  is  truth  in 
this  contention.  But  the  world  is  passing  out 
of  its  isolation.  All  who  follow  the  issues  of  the 
day  reflectively  may  venture  to  contribute  their 
share.  Many  minds  of  varied  types  are  needed 
to  make  the  new  faith  articulate.  We  are  no 
longer  looking  for  finality  of  statement  from 
any  individual  or  institution.  We  are  all  to 
work  together.  Thus  the  power  of  affirmative 
faith  shall  grow  in  the  world. 

Again,  some  one  will  say:  "You  may  indeed 
eulogize  faith  and  show  how  splendid  it  is  for 
people  to  believe  despite  all  evidence,  but  what 
do  you  expect  when  the  world  has  gone  mad.'' 
How  can  one  believe  in  brotherly  love  when 
thousands  have  been  slain  on  the  battle-fields 
of  Europe.''  Why  talk  about  a  God  of  mercy 
when  whole  nations  have  been  starved  and  de- 
ported? Why  plead  for  righteousness  when 
might  once  more  proves  'right,'  when  the  neces- 
sity which  '  knows  no  law '  threatens  to  sweep  us 
one  and  all  into  its  dominions.''  Is  it  not  con- 
clusively plain  at  last  that  it  is  not  the  fittest 
that  survive,  but  the  most  efficiently  organized 
to  slaughter  and  enslave?" 


THE   VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

These  are  indeed  searching  questions.  We 
may  well  give  full  heed  to  them,  allowing  real- 
ism to  disclose  the  most  dreadful  facts  at  its 
disposal.  Our  new  faith  must  meet  the  most 
serious  objection  that  can  be  raised.  If  our 
belief  in  God  and  man  cannot  withstand  the 
test,  we  need  radically  different  ideas.  More- 
over, the  strengthening  of  faith  involves  hours, 
days,  and  weeks  of  keen  struggle  on  our 
part.  It  is  doubtful  if  any  one  who  has  met 
these  momentous  times  thoughtfully,  since 
August,  1914,  has  kept  the  faith  without 
periods  when  it  was  almost  impossible  to  think 
at  all.  We  have  had  to  devote  much  of  our 
time  to  the  mere  process  of  becoming  well  in- 
formed. There  has  seemed  to  be  little  time  or 
energy  left  to  "look  before  and  after"  and 
think  constructively.  Yet  even  while  we  ques- 
tioned, the  new  vision  was  taking  shape.  The 
greatly  significant  fact  to-day  is  that  so  many 
are  thinking,  and  thinking  with  good  effect. 
We  mean  to  think  through.  Never  has  there 
been  a  better  opportunity  for  faith  to  grow 
strong.  W^ould  that  by  some  miracle  we  might 
convey  to  others  not  yet  in  possession  of  a  con- 
structive clue  this  new  impetus  which  has  al- 
ready touched  some  of  us  into  newness  of  life! 

6 


THE   SOURCES  OF  FAITH 

We  freely  admit  that  faith  is  not  a  product  of 
will.  Like  love,  it  comes  or  it  does  not.  It 
does  not  spring  from  obvious  facts  of  the  world 
or  grow  out  of  mere  conversation  and  reading. 
!lts  sources  are  found  in  the  deeper,  half- 
conscious  life;  in  what  we  accept  because  we 
must,  or  because  it  sustains  and  proves  itself 
despite  all  doubts  and  calamities;  and  in  new 
experiences  leading  to  new  convictions  which 
overthrow  the  old.  No  one  by  sheer  argument 
would  expect  to  construct  a  faith  for  another. 

Yet  the  marvel  in  this  age  of  material  suprem- 
acy is  the  new  birth  of  faith  where  least  looked 
for,  the  suddenness  of  a  revolution  in  quarters 
where  absolutism  long  held  the  people  back 
with  iron  hand.  There  is  so  much  to  learn 
from  these  latest  events  that  we  may  well  forego 
the  old  considerations  and  take  it  for  granted 
that  a  new  dispensation  has  arrived.  We  are 
witnessing  once  more  faith's  great  miracle,  its 
constancy,  its  undaunted  courage  when  all 
seemed  lost,  its  rewards  after  generations  of 
patient  waiting  and  persistent  striving.  It  is 
active  life  that  produces  faith,  and  life  is  pro- 
ducing it  all  about  us.     Active  indeed  must  we 

be  if  we  shall  rise  to  the  level  of  the  new  tide 

7 


THE  VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

sweeping  away  the  old  barriers,  if  we  shall  in 
any  way  equal  those  who  kept  the  faith  during 
forty  long  years  of  exile  in  Siberia,  awaiting  the 
great  days  of  1917.  Verily  faith  hath  a  price 
and  a  reward,  the  faith  that  accomplishes  such 
wonders  as  that. 

Despite  all  the  doubts  cast  on  the  human  in- 
tellect with  its  faulty  systems,  we  may  con- 
fidently say  that  one  of  the  greatest  sources  of 
faith  lies  in  our  own  reason.  Our  faults  and 
failures  are  due  to  incompleteness,  not  to  in- 
capacity. Moreover,  all  that  we  believe  or  have 
ever  believed  was  largely  the  work  of  this  poor 
disparaged  reason  of  ours.  Since  our  doctrines 
were  developed  and  sustained  by  arguments,  we 
may  well  venture  to  be  more  thorough  where 
our  predecessors  failed  to  take  account  of  all 
the  facts  and  their  bearings.  History  shows, 
too,  that  faith  has  been  undermined  by  faulty 
arguments,  hence  that  the  demand  is  not  for 
less  reason,  but  more.  Experience  is  meant  for 
success,  for  faith,  for  productive  thought. 
At  least  we  may  take  it  so,  and  employ  reason 
to  the  best  advantage  to  sustain  our  convictions. 
The  new  age  has  come  not  to  destroy,  but  to 
fulfil.     Unwittingly,    we    already    possess    th(j 

elements  of  the  new  faith. 

8 


THE   SOURCES  OF  FAITH 

Finally,  it  will  be  said  that  we  possess  the 
Bible,  with  the  Christian  faith,  and  that  is 
enough.  So  indeed  it  is.  But  the  Bible  is  a 
^different  book  for  each  new  age,  and  it  is  seri- 
ously to  be  questioned  whether  we  have  exhaust- 
ed the  Christian  faith.  No  one  would  be  so 
unwise  as  to  invent  a  substitute  for  the  Script- 
ures. But  we  may  all  do  our  part  to  restore 
faith  in  the  Bible  as  a  practical  guide  to  the 
spiritual  life,  over  and  above  any  of  the  theo- 
logical doctrines  now  in  disfavor.  We  needed 
the  new  clues  offered  by  psychology  and  the 
war  in  order  to  find  our  way  back  to  secure 
faith.  To  seek  fresh  evidences  is  by  no  means 
to  doubt  the  Scriptures,  but  to  begin  at  last  to 
understand. 

Despite  all  the  wisdom  of  the  schools  and  all 
the  alertness  of  the  churches,  we  must  acknowl- 
edge that  the  old  faith  has  waned.  Apart 
from  the  tendencies  of  the  age,  such  as  the 
higher  criticism  of  the  Bible,  and  the  general 
state  of  social  unrest,  it  is  important  to  note 
that  within  the  life  of  a  given  individual  faith 
is  still  sometimes  abruptly  destroyed.  The 
causes  to-day  are  the  same  as  in  all  ages: 
through  the  coming  of  death  into  the  household, 
through  a  personal  disappointment,  by  reflec- 


THE  VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

tion  on  national  disasters  such  as  the  war. 
Meanwhile,  new  forces  are  always  at  work 
to  bring  about  a  regeneration  of  faith.  It  is 
the  function  of  thought  to  gather  these  evi- 
dences and  disclose  their  meaning.  Oftentimes 
a  single  clarifying  idea  suffices  to  restore  our 
faith.  Thus  our  supposed  atheism  may  dis- 
appear in  a  twinkling.  Far  more  than  we 
realize,  our  faith  is  a  product  of  thought.  If 
our  faith  has  hitherto  been  intermittent,  we  can 
by  studying  the  laws  of  spiritual  growth  learn 
to  lessen  the  distances  between  our  moments  of 
ardent  belief.  Every  deep  experience  may  be- 
V  come  an  incentive  to  faith.  Every  power  in  our 
nature  may  become  contributory. 

By  "faith"  one  means  both  a  philosophy  and 
a  life.  The  life  comes  by  experience,  giving  us 
the  promptings,  the  power,  the  ideal;  it  comes 
by  inner  and  social  quickenings,  from  divine 
sources.  It  is  thus  in  a  sense  superior  to 
thought,  something  sacred,  like  our  love  for 
persons.  It  is,  in  brief,  our  religion,  and  true 
religion  is  life,  first,  last,  and  always.  But  what 
quickens  us  through  the  heart  may  later  touch 
us  through  thought.  Thus  we  shall  more  and 
more  clearly  see  the  reasons  for  our  faith. 

Moreover,  we  all  have  our  idealisms,  we  cling 

10 


THE  SOURCES  OF  FAITH 

to  them,  we  affirm  that  they  shall  be  carried 
into  execution.  Others  may  dream,  others  may 
be  disappointed  prophets;  you  and  I  must  prove 
that  our  idealism  is  grounded  in  eternal  prin- 
ciples, that  it  accords  with  the  divine  guidance. 
We  are  convinced  that  there  is  an  idealism 
which  shall  survive  every  shock,  even  when  war 
bursts  upon  the  horizon.  We  believe,  too,  that 
men  may  be  led  to  catch  the  vision  so  that  they 
will  work  together  not  only  to  end  war,  but  the 
whole  system  out  of  which  war  springs.  Here 
is  where  the  intellectual  element  of  faith  will 
count.  For  much  depends  on  our  theory  of  the 
origin  of  the  evils  we  propose  to  combat.  Much 
more  depends  on  our  view  of  the  forces  which 
shall  bring  about  the  new  social  order.  We 
have  had  enough  of  the  faith  that  works  at 
random. 

It  is  plain  also  that  the  time  for  mere  indi- 
vidualism has  passed,  even  the  individualism 
of  serenity,  poise,  the  inner  life.  Individuals 
with  ideas  and  service  to  contribute,  we  must 
indeed  have;  for  what  we  want  is  variety,  co- 
operation amidst  diversity;  not  dead-levelism, 
not  sameness,  not  harmony  at  any  price.  But 
our  serenity  must  meet  new  tests,  our  poise 

should  be  a  basis  for  service,  while  the  inner  life 

11 


THE   VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

in  general  should  be  truly  efficient.  No  faith 
is  adequate  to-day  that  simply  yields  hope, 
'courage,  inner  peace,  or  a  belief  in  the  future 
life  which  suffices  for  one*s  family  only.  Our 
faith  must  meet  the  tests  not  alone  of  war  or 
other  calamities,  but  respond  to  the  movement 
to  abolish  poverty  and  bring  about  true  soli- 
darity. It  may  indeed  begin  with  individual 
problems,  it  may  hold  out  new  hopes,  stimulate 
courage  afresh,  and  point  the  way  to  secure 
inner  peace.  But  these  are  means,  not  ends. 
The  individual  who  reposes  in  them  for  his  own 
comfort  has  advanced  no  further  than  the  old- 
time  salvationism  for  "safety  first."  Love, 
not  peace,  is  the  highest  incentive.  Justice  is 
of  more  value  than  personal  security.  Love 
and  justice  are  neither  of  the  inner  life  nor  of  the 
outer,  primarily.  Nor  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven 
within,  if  by  "within"  we  especially  mean  the 
sentiments  and  experiences  which  the  individual 
soul  enjoys.  Love  is  for  all,  all  races,  all 
nations,  all  neighbors  and  alleged  enemies. 
Justice  is  for  all.  Salvation  is  for  every  mem- 
ber of  the  race. 

In  our  country,  when  the  great  war  came,  we 
had  far  too  much  of  that  complacent  optimism 
which  is  content  to  declare,  "All's  right  with 

12 


THE  SOURCES  OF  FAITH 

the  world,"  merely  because  ''God's  in  His 
heaven."  This  self-complacency  amounted  to 
a  kind  of  fatalism,  as  if  whatever  we  need  would 
somehow  come  gravitating  to  us  out  of  "the 
universal."  It  has  put  the  emphasis  on  "the 
law  of  attraction"  which  belonged  on  the  law  of 
effort.  It  has  been  satisfied  with  aflSrmations, 
as  if  suggestion  could  by  a  secret  law  manipu- 
late the  organism  of  the  world  and  give  us 
what  we  want  without  further  exertion.  Thus 
our  optimism  has  wasted  energy  in  the  vain 
pursuit  of  a  royal  road.  It  has  not  been  much 
better  than  the  old  Lutheran  teaching  that 
salvation  could  be  secured  "by  faith  alone." 

Worse  still,  we  have  had  those  among  us  who 
in  their  optimism  have  not  only  neglected  to  ' 

oppose  the  evils  of  the  world,  but  have  virtually  ^^ 

declared  that  evil  does  not  exist.  At  the  be- 
ginning of  the  war  we  displayed  unexampled 
indifference  amidst  great  prosperity,  as  much 
as  to  say,  "The  quarrels  of  the  Old  World  are 
no  concern  of  ours."  Pacifism  in  its  irresolute 
forms  is  simply  the  latest  type  of  this  optimistic 
blindness  to  the  actual  state  of  the  world. 
Strange  to  relate,  some  of  the  pacifists  were 
willing  to  go  up  to  the  eleventh  hour  in  sheer 
propagandism  before  they  began  to  awake  to  the 

13 


ftr 


THE  VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

real  state  of  affairs.  There  was  indeed  a  kind  of 
"national  moral  enervation"  Implying  the 
"irresolution  of  cowardice,"  as  one  writer  has 
put  it. 

The  prime  difficulty  with  such  views  is  that 
they  are  built  on  theory  accepted  because  it 
is  pleasing  or  because  it  seems  to  hold  together 
consistently.  The  world  has  always  harbored 
idealists  who  displayed  serene  contempt  for 
facts,  as  if  the  actual  course  of  events  had  noth- 
ing to  do  with  the  truth  which  shall  transform 
the  race  into  the  image  and  likeness  of  heaven. 
Our  age  has  seen  the  need  of  a  new  formulation 
of  ideals.  Mere  rationality,  sometimes  called 
consistency  or  logic,  is  no  longer  the  test.  Our 
faith  must  come  forth  from  the  whole  mind  and 
heart.  Its  full  test  when  met  by  another  is  the 
soul's  complete  reaction,  the  response  of  the 
soul  that  lives  close  to  the  heart  of  humanity. 
It  depends  more  on  actual  signs  of  change  now 
in  progress,  such  as  the  great  awakening  In 
Russia,  than  on  all  the  arguments  in  the  world. 

There  is  no  longer  any  virtue  in  standing  by 
a  principle  at  all  costs,  nor  any  virtue  in  merely 
trying  to  believe.  We  all  believe  enough  to 
begin  on.  Our  sincere  utterance  springs  from 
what  we  intuitively  know  Is  true.     The  soul 

14 


THE  SOURCES  OF  FAITH 

regarded  in  this  larger  sense  has,  as  Pascal  tells 
us,  "reasons  which  reason  does  not  know." 
We  do  not  propose  to  embark  on  the  old  ad- 
venture by  *' giving  bad  reasons  for  what  we 
beheve  on  faith."  We  propose  to  bring  up  our 
reasons  to  the  level  of  our  faith.  We  need  not 
close  our  eyes  to  facts  or  aught  else  that  is  true. 
Finally,  the  problem  is  to  persuade  people  to 
take  the  great  step  from  knowing  to  doing. 
Faith  is  not  indeed  created  by  will,  but  will 
carries  it  into  execution.  We  have  had  intel- 
lectual faith  in  abundance.  We  have  had 
convictions,  but  not  the  courage  which  is  "the 
instant  performing  of  that  which  we  ought." 
We  have  sought  verbal  confirmation  of  our  faith 
instead  of  the  verifications  which  grow  out  of 
actual  service  in  meeting  the  world  where  it  is. 
The  time  has  come  to  declare  that  the  test  of 
truth  is  social — that  is,  the  test  is  workability  in 
practical  service  for  human  brotherhood.  To 
believe  as  your  authoritative  leader  believes  is 
not  only  too  easy,  but  is  not  in  itself  even  a  sign 
that  your  belief  is  true.  Therefore  we  must 
find  some  way  to  induce  men  to  make  the 
venture,  make  trial  of  their  faith  by  break- 
ing through  the  walls  of  self-satisfaction,  self- 
righteousness,  and  the  other  inhibitions. 

15 


THE  VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

Although  knowing  does  not  necessarily  mean 
doing,  it  is  a  long  step  toward  it.  Hence  it  is 
well  to  learn  why  men  so  seldom  make  the  great 
effort.  Our  psychology  has  been  wrong,  for 
one  thing.  We  have  placed  far  too  much  stress 
on  the  mere  idea.  We  have  neglected  the  con- 
cealed wish,  the  repressed  desire,  the  unrealized 
ambition,  the  conflict  between  the  emotions 
and  the  will,  the  will  and  the  passions.  Hence 
we  were  taken  by  surprise  when  the  war  came — 
as  if  it  came  without  any  connection  with  the 
social  system  of  which  it  was  in  deepest  truth  an 
inevitable  expression.  We  must  remedy  our 
psychology  and  appeal  to  the  world  in  a  very 
different  way,  if  we  would  rid  the  world  of 
warfare. 

We  failed,  too,  not  only  because  our  psychol- 
ogy was  wrong  but  because  of  distorted  views  of 
human  nature,  views  which  tended  to  destroy 
men's  faith.  The  world  has  been  greatly 
handicapped  by  theologies  which  have  dis- 
counted human  nature.  Then,  too,  the  universal 
habit  of  generalization  is  strong,  and  many  of  us 
have  most  unreasonably  lost  faith  merely 
because  two  or  three  individuals  greatly  disap- 
pointed us.  Worse  still,  some  of  us  have  fallen 
into  class  hatreds  and  permitted  ourselves  to 

16 


THE  SOURCES  OF  FAITH 

believe  that  all  people  in  power  are  exploiting 
us  for  their  own  benefit.  Until  the  war  came 
with  its  beneficent  changes  there  were  many 
who  staked  their  hopes  on  the  revolution  of  one 
class  against  all  other  classes.  These  had  prac- 
tically lost  faith  in  God,  they  had  almost  for- 
gotten nature  with  its  bounties,  and  as  for 
history,  they  turned  a  deaf  ear  on  all  of  its 
admonitions.  Luckily,  the  war  has  changed  all 
this.  For  while  it  has  shaken  our  faith  in  some 
of  the  nations,  it  has  immensely  strengthened 
our  belief  in  the  common  man,  the  soldier  in 
the  trenches,  the  worker  in  the  munitions 
factory,  and  a  thousand  others  who  have  toiled 
incessantly  that  this  might  be  "the  last  war  of 
the  kings. " 

Can  any  one  ever  doubt  human  nature  again 
who  has  seriously  meditated  on  that  most 
dramatic,  that  most  picturesque  spectacle  of 
modern  times,  the  march  of  a  hundred  thousand 
exiles  from  the  confines  of  Siberia  into  the  light 
of  a  new  Russia?  What  are  our  petty  trials  in 
comparison?  What  right  have  we  to  discuss 
the  validities  of  faith  who  have  not  undergone 
half  so  much  for  what  we  claimed  to  believe? 
Shall  we  not  dare  hope  for  the  best  ever  con- 
templated by  the  soul  of  man,  now  that  we  have 

17 


THE  VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

seen  faith  survive  all  the  tortures  of  the  most 
horrible  exile  ever  devised  by  the  governments 
of  men?  Why  not  permit  these  glorious  facts 
to  efface  the  sad  memories  of  the  nations  that 
proved  faithless? 

Too  long  we  have  classified  people  and  creeds 
together,  condemning  governments,  corpora- 
tions, churches,  and  people,  in  one  breath. 
Let  us  henceforth  put  our  faith  in  man,  in  the 
race,  in  human  life  and  all  that  makes  it  sound 
and  sweet;  while  singling  out  the  ideas  and 
systems  responsible  for  the  poverty,  servitude, 
and  warfare  under  which  the  masses  have 
lived.  The  more  faithfully  we  recognize  the 
human  element  and  lift  it  up,  the  more  quickly 
shall  "the  system"  pass.  We  may  lend  our 
support  in  this  way  to  the  new  order  of  things 
without  turning  against  those  who  sustained 
the  old.  Thus,  too,  we  may  abide  by  the  moral 
law 

The  method  of  thought  we  propose  for  the 
solution  of  the  great  problem  is  one  that  begins 
with  keener  observation  to  determine  the  facts, 
and  all  the  salient  facts,  about  life  to-day,  with 
its  social  needs  and  its  wide-spread  warfare  of 
several  sorts.  We  must  frankly  acknowledge 
what  exists,  despite  our  preferences;  looking 

18 


THE  SOURCES  OF  FAITH 

through  the  facts  to  the  immanent  tendencies, 
the  impHed  laws,  and  the  goal  or  ideals.  We 
must  then  adapt  ourselves  to  the  present  con- 
crete situation  with  far  greater  earnestness  and 
thoroughness.  The  direct  point  of  approach 
which  we  shall  advocate  is  that  of  psychology. 
For,  as  we  hope  to  show,  it  is  psychology  which 
discloses  the  deeper  sources  not  only  of  warfare 
and  of  all  social  evils,  but  of  those  promising 

Lpowers  in  our  nature  which  offer  hope.  It  is 
psychology,  too,  which  enables  us  to  work  out 
the  questions  of  non-resistance,  neutrality,  the 
social  values  of  Christianity,  and  many  other 
vital  matters.  The  prime  result  should  be, 
more  light  on  the  possibilities  of  transmutation 
or  sublimation — that  is,  "the  moral  equivalent 
for  war."  Then  the  psychological  point  of 
view  will  lead  us  to  the  spiritual — not  the 
spiritual  in  the  doctrinal  sense,  but  the  spiritual 
in  that  large  sense  in  which  we  all  long  for  it 

/when  we  dream  of  "the  fullness  of  life."  We 
shall  find  new  grounds  for  contentment,  hence 

.  for  faith.  Yet  these  will  be  philosophical 
grounds,  those  appealing  to  men  and  women 
who  think  for  themselves.  Our  argument  will 
spring,  in  short,  from  a  certain  interpretation 
of  human  nature  which  has  little  to  do  with 

19 


THE   VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

conventional  ideas  of  sin,  evil,  and  salvation;  it 
will  take  a  more  direct  course  to  a  constructive 
ideal,  implying  deep  trust  in  the  human  mind 
and  heart. 

In  addition  to  this  affirmative  faith  in  human 
nature,  let  us  also  acknowledge  afresh  that  the 
chief  essential  is  faith  in  God.  We  all  realize 
this  when  told.  The  great  need  is  to  turn  about 
and  show  by  our  conduct  that  we  are  living 
accordingly.  Here  again  recent  history  is  more 
persuasive  than  all  argument.  For  very  nearly 
the  most  remarkable  result  of  the  whole  war  is 
the  wide-spread  testimony  coming  from  the  men 
who  realize  most  vividly  that  "war  is  hell," 
namely,  that  they  will  stake  everything  what- 
soever on  the  belief  that  "God  exists."  If 
these  can  see  what  they  have  seen,  suffer  as  they 
have  suffered,  fight  as  they  have  had  to  fight 
against  the  most  unlawful  devices  ever  invented 
by  man,  and  yet  return  home  wounded  with 
the  holy  name  on  their  lips,  shall  not  we  believe 
too?     Would  it  not  be  disgraceful  to  doubt? 

If  you  and  I  shall  come  into  productive  faith, 
we  must  make  some  kind  of  concerted  effort  to 
bring  together  these  great  new  evidences,  we 
must  seek  the  conditions  which  invite  faith 
from  the  one  source  which  truly  possesses  the 

20 


THE  SOURCES  OF  FAITH 

power  to  quicken  it.  Hence  we  will  naturally 
begin  by  taking  the  times  for  meditation  which 
we  foolishly  declare  impossible.  For  we  must 
put  things  in  the  right  order.  Faith  is  a  product 
of  our  deeper  moments,  and  we  must  have 
deeper  moments  if  we  would  grow.  Faith 
springs  from  our  larger  nature,  and  we  need 
times  wherein  this  nature  shall  declare  itself. 
The  life  of  our  time  is  replete  with  evidences 
which  would  strengthen  our  faith,  if  we  would 
but  study  the  signs  of  the  age.  We  need  not 
repair  to  the  trenches  for  this.  The  new  age 
is  all  about  us.  The  new  psychology  is  at  hand 
to  yield  a  clue.  The  social  spirit  is  here  with 
its  quickening  touch.  Let  us  observe,  think, 
listen,  that  we  may  respond  to  the  deeper,  more 
intimate  quickenings  of  this  new  spirit. 
3 


II 


TENDENCIES   OF   THE   AGE 

THERE  is  a  wide-spread  conviction  that 
human  progress  takes  place  by  cycles  or 
successive  epochs.  If  we  had  given  more  atten- 
tion to  history  from  within  we  might  be  able 
by  this  time  to  trace  the  law  of  change.  It  is 
already  clear  that  periods  of  great  upheaval 
precede  periods  of  rapid  advancement.  Thus 
the  Christian  era  was  ushered  in.  Thus  came 
the  Protestant  Reformation  and  the  French 
Revolution.  The  pessimist  would  say  the 
world  had  become  as  sinful  as  it  could  be, 
while  the  optimist  would  interpret  the  decay 
in  the  light  of  a  new  moral  awakening.  How- 
ever this  may  be,  there  is  wide-spread  testimony 
to  the  fact  that  we  are  living  in  one  of  the 
great  cycles  of  change  to-day. 

Even  before  August,  1914,  there  were  signs 
and  prophecies  of  the  new  dispensation.  What- 
ever the  premonitory  signs,  most  of  us  are  now 

22 


TENDENCIES  OF  THE  AGE 

interested  in  the  events  which  became  so  im- 
pressive after  the  first  months  of  battle  had 
shown  us  that  the  war  was  not  to  be  short- 
lived. We  now  realize  that  the  memorable  date 
in  1914  was  a  turning-point  in  the  history  of  the 
world.  Whereas  we  were  in  an  age  of  unrest 
and  dissatisfaction,  we  are  now  actually  in  the 
profound  process  of  reconstruction.  While  men 
and  women  were  once  wandering  far  in  quest  of 
new  schemes  that  gave  promise  of  reform,  we  are 
now  constantly  witnessing  reforms.  The  scien- 
tific conquests  and  achievements  of  the  nine- 
teenth century  no  longer  impress  us  as  they  did. 
The  period  of  criticism  which  led  to  reaction 
against  the  old  creeds  has  given  place  to  a  new 
religious  awakening. 

It  is  still  too  early  to  read  all  significant  signs 
of  the  times.  But  the  new  age  has  been  so  long 
in  process  that  many  of  its  tendencies  are  plain, 
while  some  of  its  lessons  are  already  clear.  It 
is  in  line  with  the  spirit  of  the  age  to  keep  close 
to  the  ground,  to  face  the  facts,  looking  through 
them  to  what  appears  to  be  the  next  advance. 
Taking  our  clue  from  this  spirit,  we  may  briefly 
note  some  of  the  tendencies  hkely  to  guide  us  in 
the  process  of  reconstruction. 

Ours  is  a  promising,  healthy  age.    We  are 

23 


THE  VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

learning  how  difficult  it  is  to  make  real  progress, 
and  we  are  not  likely  to  boast  for  another  hun- 
dred years.  The  concealed  barbarisms  have 
been  brought  to  the  surface,  and  by  this  time 
we  probably  know  the  worst.  The  petty,  self- 
defensive  nationalisms  have  been  exposed,  and 
we  are  looking  forward  to  true  internationalism. 
We  are  amazed  for  the  moment  that  the  world 
could  stoop  so  low  in  zest  for  supremacy,  with 
its  organized  hate  and  its  heartless  material- 
ism. We  know  that  racial  suspicion  is  likely  to 
survive  some  generations.  But  whatever  may 
come,  our  eyes  are  open  at  last.  We  are  not 
likely  to  be  satisfied  with  any  scheme  for  util- 
izing efficiency  for  the  enslavement  of  men, 
either  in  war  or  commerce.  For  every  new 
invention  calculated  to  do  injury,  every  plot  or 
underhanded  device  there  must  be  an  offsetting 
equivalent  before  mischief  can  be  wrought. 
Painful  indeed  have  been  the  lessons,  but  we 
are  learning  them. 

Long  before  the  w^ar,  ours  had  come  to  be  a 
highly  external  age,  an  epoch  of  unsurpassed 
enterprises,  speed  manias,  big  things,  big  num- 
bers, with  an  increased  love  of  display  and 
worldliness;  but  we  had  begun  to  protest.     It 

was  already  an  age  of    unequaled   luxury  in 

24 


TENDENCIES  OF  THE  AGE 

homes,  in  hotels,  aboard  ship,  in  automobiles; 
but  we  wondered  whether  luxury  would  bring 
our  downfall,  as  it  did  to  Rome.  It  was  a  time 
when  manual  workers  had  become  cogs  in  a 
great  industrial  machine,  but  a  reaction  was  on 
foot  which  might  have  brought  civil  war  had 
not  the  greater  war  intervened.  We  scarcely 
realized  what  it  was  for  a  human  being  to  be 
reduced  to  a  mere  unit  until  we  read  about  men 
who  marched  to  the  battle-field  at  the  mercy  of 
the  policy  of  "blood  and  iron."  This  began  to 
seem  the  real  slavery,  and  we  wondered  why  the 
soldier  had  never  been  regarded  as  a  slave,  why 
we  had  been  so  lenient  with  the  officials  at  home 
who  touch  the  buttons  that  set  the  world  afire. 
More  than  any  event  the  world  has  seen,  the  war 
has  taught  the  futility  of  the  merely  external 
life,  the  life  in  bondage  to  machines  and  militar- 
ism. 

Again,  our  age  is  still  one  of  realism  in  art,  the 
moving  picture,  the  press.  Nothing  could  be 
more  repulsive  on  the  surface.  The  dancing 
and  dining  manias,  supplemented  by  the  new 
era  in  dress,  have  intensified  this  realism.  The 
war  for  a  while  made  us  even  more  accustomed 
to  sensational  news,  hardened,  less  likely  to  be 
touched  or  stirred.     Yet  mere  information  and 

25 


THE   VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

expression  are  often  forerunners  of  wisdom. 
If  the  idealism  of  one  age  becomes  vague  and 
visionary,  the  reahsm  of  the  next  must  expose 
the  rude  earth  to  view.  We  have  not  lost  the 
poetry  amidst  the  prose.  New  forms  of  art 
have  sprung  up  amidst  the  ruins.  The  moving 
picture  has  enforced  lessons  no  sermons  coidd 
instil.  He  who  would  appeal  to  people  must 
henceforth  live  in  the  most  intimate  touch  with 
his  age.  The  time  has  passed  for  criticism  from 
the  man  who  does  nothing. 

We  are  more  persistently  objecting  to  any  one 
who  uses  the  head  at  the  expense  of  heart  or 
hand,  and  we  hope  the  war  will  persuade  every 
one  of  the  value  of  working  by  the  sweat  of  one's 
brow.  We  are  ready  to  examine  any  theory 
adapted  to  the  step  the  world  is  taking  now,  but 
we  are  skeptical  of  any  remote  view  of  life.  The 
best  gift  conferred  by  the  great  idea  of  evolution 
is  the  knowledge  that  to-day  is  the  result  of 
yesterday  and  that  of  countless  yesterdays 
which  have  witnessed  gradual  changes.  We 
have  learned,  as  a  result,  both  to  think  and  to 
work  with  reference  to  law,  continuity,  order, 
system.  We  realize  that  things  will  remain  as 
they  are  unless  forces  are  put  to  work  which  will 
act  within  and  through  what  exists  gradually 

20 


TENDENCIES  OF  THE  AGE 

to  transform  it.  The  gain  in  thought,  in  prac- 
tice, in  method,  is  enormous;  and  we  are  now 
in  a  position  to  advance  to  the  plane  of 
wide-spread  moral  evolution. 

Our  age  is  also  in  high  degree  empirical. 
Every  man  wishes  to  experience  for  himself,  to 
see  the  world,  know  life,  read  about  it  or  see  it 
vividly  portrayed;  then  let  experience  lead  the 
way  to  theory.  We  wish  to  test  all  vital  mat- 
ters by  our  own  feelings,  to  travel  instead  of 
reading  books  by  those  who  travel  and  see 
merely  what  they  are  looking  for.  We  try  to 
*' learn  by  doing"  where  we  once  followed  imita- 
tively.  This  is  partly  because  we  have  learned 
to  discount  the  dogmas  of  the  past,  and  partly 
because  we  are  more  practical.  We  now  put  all 
matters  to  the  test  of  conduct,  of  life.  Hence 
each  of  us  must  experiment,  and  find  a  way  to 
productivity.  We  have  carried  the  spirit  of 
research  into  almost  every  field.  W^e  hold  more 
matters  in  solution.  We  await  the  results  of 
experience.  Accordingly,  we  are  working  back 
to  the  original  sources,  the  first  approaches  to 
life  and  truth — before  the  reign  of  dogma. 

The  quest  for  eflSciency  did  not  long  prove 
central.  For  economy  of  resources,  time,  mon- 
ey, energy;  the  training  of  experts;  the  division 

27 


THE   VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

of  labor;  the  use  of  schedules;  standardization, 
and  the  like — were  soon  seen  to  be  secondary  to 
essentially  human  considerations  and  other  ends 
that  are  worth  while.  There  must  be  respect 
for  the  individual  all  along  the  line,  quality 
must  be  put  above  quantity  and  money.  To 
have  higher  vocational  training  there  must  be 
renewed  interest  in  the  individual  in  every  rela- 
tion. No  reform  in  the  conditions  of  labor  will 
prove  satisfactory  which  does  not  include  every 
sort  of  work,  including  that  of  the  home,  the 
school,  the  study,  the  laboratory.  The  war  has 
taught  us  how  barbarous  may  be  the  uses  of 
efficiency. 

Interest  in  organization  has  also  been  reaching 
its  height.  No  sooner  did  the  industries  organ- 
ize on  a  vast  scale  than  labor  produced  offset- 
ting unions.  Everything  must  be  organized  to- 
day. The  movement  took  its  rise  from  beneath, 
from  things  mechanical;  but  the  devil  is  apt 
to  be  better  drilled  than  his  opponent.  In  the 
war  we  have  witnessed  this  on  an  enormous 
scale.  We  have  seen  the  impossibility  of  sud- 
denly taking  the  field  with  a  force  to  conquer 
a  power  that  has  been  ready  for  a  decade.  We 
have  done  very  little  as  yet  to  organize  for 
peace  as  nations  have  prepared  for  war.     The 

28 


TENDENCIES  OF  THE  AGE 

idea  of  organization  has  come  to  stay,  but  it 
must  be  organization  in  behalf  of  humanity. 
We  still  have  a  lesson  to  learn  from  the  fact 
that  conservatives  of  all  schools  and  nations 
with  selfish  motives  are  always  better  unified 
than  the  liberal  and  progressive. 

This  tendency  to  mobilize  has  taught  us  anew 
that  economic  factors  virtually  rule  the  world. 
We  saw  from  the  beginning  that  the  question  of 
the  war  would  be  chiefly  one  of  finance.  We 
have  seen  even  idealists  forced  to  turn  to  any 
occupation  their  hands  could  find  to  do.  The 
world  has  put  off  as  long  as  it  could  the  economic 
problems  which  must  be  settled  before  there 
shall  be  true  peace  in  the  world.  It  does  not 
follow  that  "money  is  king,"  but  the  economic 
issue  is  at  least  one  of  the  three  or  four  greatest 
issues  before  us  to-day. 

Meanwhile,  there  are  signs  on  every  hand  that 
this  is  the  social  century.  Everywhere  we  are 
witnessing  the  good  deeds  which  spring  from  the 
new  sympathy.  Everywhere  we  feel  the  benefi- 
cent influences  of  "the  social  touch."  Every 
vital  problem  is  proving  to  be  fundamentally 
a  social  question.  This  is  the  testimony  of  the 
sciences  and  of  the  practical  world.  EflBciency, 
we  see,  must  be  regarded  as  only  a  step  toward 

29 


THE   VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

social  co-operation.  The  emphasis  is  on  ser- 
vice, altruism,  brotherhood.  We  all  know  that 
some  kind  of  social  regeneration  is  imperative, 
whether  or  not  it  shall  take  the  form  of  an  eco- 
nomic upheaval.  There  must  be  justice,  the 
real  justice  of  the  moral  law;  not  that  of  the 
courts  or  the  purchasable  variety.  All  men 
must  have  a  fair  opportunity,  and  we  must 
investigate  for  some  time  in  the  empirical  spirit 
to  learn  what  a  fair  opportunity  means.  We 
are  more  and  more  on  the  alert  to  recognize  the 
type,  to  encourage  each  to  live  and  let  live. 
What  is  true  in  the  small  group  where  this  spirit 
reigns  must  become  true  among  nations. 

To  a  remarkable  degree  our  age  tends  toward 
unity.  This  was  seen  long  ago  in  the  field  of  the 
special  sciences,  and  science  has  attained  unity 
of  results  far  surpassing  those  of  religion.  This 
movement  toward  unity  is  apparent  in  dress,  in 
plans  for  social  improvement,  in  the  succor  ren- 
dered when  great  calamities  occur,  in  the  effort 
for  better  sanitation.  Travel  w^as  one  of  the 
first  aids  in  this  direction.  The  telegraph,  the 
telephone,  the  wireless,  the  press,  the  moving 
pictures,  have  all  helped.  W'hatever  occurs  is 
soon  known  and  utilized,  despite  military  pre- 
cautions  and    the   isolations   caused    by    war. 

30 


TENDENCIES  OF  THE  AGE 

Every  great  event  brings  the  nations  nearer, 
whatever  the  temporary  antagonisms.  Every 
organization  bears  testimony  to  this  drawing 
together.  We  await  the  one  which  shall  bring 
the  nations  together  on  a  basis  of  brotherhood. 
We  are  also  assigning  a  peculiar  value  to 
"life"  as  the  fundamental  term.  This  does  not 
simply  mean  that  experience  comes  before 
creeds,  instinct  before  thought,  art  before 
science,  religion  before  theology.  It  means 
that  everything  worth  while  has  sprung  from  a 
vital  impulse  and  is  for  the  sake  of  life,  should 
be  tested  by  life:  art  is  for  life,  truth  is  for 
utility  or  service,  and  life  is  more  glorious  than 
any  ethical  scheme.  "The  fullness  of  life"  is  a 
phrase  that  now  has  new  meaning.  We  are 
seeking  life  in  the  elemental  and  also  through 
greater  effort  to  understand  and  control  the 
elemental.  Bergson  has  raised  the  term  "hfe" 
to  the  cosmic  power  and  made  it  even  equivalent 
to  the  term  "God."  The  term  also  serves  to 
show  the  way  out  of  skepticism  for  those  who 
are  feehug  the  new  social  touch.  "Life"  is 
indeed  much  more  than  an  "unknowable" 
behind  all  natural  evolution.  We  know  enough 
about  it  to  protest  against  any  teaching  that 
is  too  formal  or  intellectual.     It  quickens  us  to 

31 


THE  VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

return  to  the  original  sources  of  power,  and  to 
assign  all  doctrines  to  their  place. 

All  these  tendencies  are  parts  of  the  great 
movement  for  human  solidarity.  We  are  mak- 
ing use  of  devices  which  bring  the  news  to  our 
doors  because  we  care  so  much  for  humanity. 
What  affects  one  affects  all,  even  in  war-time 
when  the  officials  do  their  best  to  outwit  nature. 
The  effect  of  an  event  concerning  which  we 
have  even  the  most  meager  news  is  electrical  the 
world  over.  It  is  not  the  mere  fact  of  a  revolu- 
tion that  stirs  us,  but  rather  the  awakening  life 
of  a  people  long  held  in  subjection  yet  not 
crushed.  We  place  less  emphasis  on  kings  and 
emperors  as  a  result.  We  realize  that  the  truly 
invincible  power  is  life,  not  physical  force.  It 
is  not  the  most  cunning,  the  physically  strong- 
est, the  most  externally  fit  and  efficient  that 
survive.  Life  is  still  life,  the  moral  law  still 
obtains.     God  still  lives! 

On  the  surface  we  see  organized  effort  to  put 
all  power  into  the  hands  of  the  few — the  auto- 
crats, financiers,  and  emperors.  Underneath 
we  see  the  organisms  which  life  uses,  we  see  the 
effort  to  make  men  in  actuality  "members  one 
of  another."  Never  were  nature's  forces  ma- 
nipulated so  skilfully,  on  land,  under  the  sea,  or 

32 


TENDENCIES  OF  THE  AGE 

in  the  air.  But  never  were  the  efforts  so  per- 
sistent and  unremitting  to  bring  all  energies 
into  higher  use.  We  need  no  longer  fear  mate- 
rialism or  the  mechanical  philosophy.  We 
intend  to  enlist  the  agencies  which  the  prophets 
of  science  have  disclosed.  We  have  seen  the 
proud  manipulators  of  nature's  forces  turn  more 
and  more  to  the  counsels  of  thought  for  their 
wisdom.  The  thinkers  who  have  played  their 
silent  part  in  producing  war  have  thereby  taught 
us  anew  how  to  wield  the  power  that  spells  their 
doom. 

Thus  while  ours  has  been  the  most  external 
age  the  world  has  seen,  it  has  also  in  a  sense 
become  the  most  psychological.  We  have  put 
the  emphasis  on  motives  and  attitudes  with 
newness  of  meaning,  not  long  disturbed  even 
when  a  treaty  was  scorned  as  a  mere  "scrap  of 
paper,"  and  when  it  looked  as  if  physical  force 
must  henceforth  be  the  only  basis  of  dependence. 
For  our  emphasis  now  includes  the  subcon- 
scious, the  concealed  wish,  the  unrealized  desire, 
the  conflicts  of  the  divided  personality;  and  we 
are  bringing  the  whole  human  being  into  new 
light.  Even  the  war  has  been  called  psycho- 
logical.    Vast  sums  of  money  have  been  spent 

merely  to  win  a  people  over  to  a  point  of  view, 

33 


THE  VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

hundreds  of  lives  have  been  risked  in  relatively 

fruitless  air-raids  designed  to  produce  a  mental 

effect  on  people  who  seemed  difficult  of  assault 

by  guns.     Never  has  suggestion  been  used  on 

such  a  vast  scale.     Never  have  there  been  such 

skilful  evasions  and  denials,  now  intended  to 

pacify  the  people  at  home,  now  meant  for  the 

enemy  or  the  neutral,  and  now  disclosing  the 

real  motives  of  a  nation  in  straits.     Certain  it  is 

that  we  must  penetrate  more  deeply  into  the 

inner  life  of  nations  if  we  would  in  the  future 

avoid  secret  diplomacy  and  war. 

We  might  even  venture  the  statement  that 

the  most  striking  characteristic  of  the  age  is  its 

profound  disclosures  of  the  meaning  and  worth 

of  the  inner  life  amidst  tendencies  which  seem 

to  be  going  the  other  way.     This  is  not  a  merely 

unwitting  disclosure,  as  if  we  knew  little  about 

the  inner  life  until  men  began  to  consider  anew 

what  is  worth  contending  for.     For  a  decade 

or  two  the  growing  interest  in  the  inner  life  had 

become  one  of  the  great  signs  of  the  times. 

This  interest  has  appeared  in  so  many  quarters, 

it  implies  so  many  origins,  expectations,  ideals, 

that  we  may  well  try  to  interpret  it  as  a  direct 

evidence  of  the  kind  of  new  age  that  is  upon  us. 

Some  of  these  tendencies  are  indeed  super- 

34 


TENDENCIES  OF  THE  AGE 

ficial.  Yet  we  may  take  them  as  signs  of  a  wave 
of  spiritual  reaction.  The  interest  in  psychical 
subjects,  for  example,  is  not  limited  to  any  class, 
but  has  even  enlisted  science.  Disai)pointing 
indeed  are  the  alleged  descriptions  of  the  life 
after  death,  few  indeed  are  the  established  facts, 
so  few  that  the  trained  mind  can  find  flaws  in  all 
the  evidences.  What  signifies  is  not  the  reports 
and  books  on  the  subject;  but  the  fact  that  peo- 
ple read  these,  that  they  are  so  eager  to  learn, 
so  neglectful  of  the  kind  of  consolation  once 
offered  by  the  clergy.  It  is  safe  to  say  that 
belief  in  the  future  life  has  assumed  a  much 
more  rational  form  as  a  result  of  all  this  research. 
Many  a  person  has  arrived  thereby  at  convic- 
tions which  withstand  the  tests  of  all  external 
methods. 

Out  of  this  interest. in  the  future  life  has  come 
a  point  of  view  expressed  by  such  men  as  Sir 
Oliver  Lodge,  William  James,  and  Henri 
Bergson.  From  this  point  of  view  we  have  been 
at  fault  in  regarding  life  or  consciousness  as  a 
product  of  nature  or  the  brain,  we  have  been 
putting  the  effects  before  the  cause.  For  life 
is  by  no  means  a  mere  by-product  of  the  organ- 
isms it  animates,  but  the  central  energy  itself. 
Consciousness  is  not  a  sheer  emanation  of  the 

35 


THE   VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

bruin,  a  concealed  flame  doomed  to  die  out  when 
the  heart  ceases  to  beat.  Nor  is  the  great  Hfe 
of  the  cosmos  produced  by  the  visible  world  of 
substances.  Life,  to  use  Bergson's  figure,  is 
itself  the  primal  impetus  or  wave  which  went 
forth  countless  seons  ago  in  productive  activity, 
and  has  been  leaving  these  visible  signs  of  its 
power  which  we  see  about  us  all  down  through 
the  ages  of  its  progress.  Consciousness  is  su- 
perior to  the  instrument  it  uses.  It  has  given 
itself  a  brain  wherewith  to  communicate  and  to 
touch  the  world.  Life  produced  the  universe 
and  is  akin  to  consciousness,  and  life  presses  on 
and  on,  whatever  the  vicissitudes  of  its  visible 
forms.  It  is  only  one  step  from  this  position 
to  the  great  thought  of  the  universe  as  the  em- 
bodiment of  spirit,  and  to  the  thought  of  man  as 
a  finite  spirit  manifesting  himself  by  the  aid 
of  consciousness  through  the  brain.  It  thus 
becomes  more  feasible  to  pass  in  thought  to  the 
spiritual  world  as  a  world  of  real  substances  and 
causes,  the  realm  in  which  as  spirits  we  already 
live. 

The  great  value  of  the  wide-spread  influence 
exerted  by  William  James  in  his  later  years  is 
found   in   the   emphasis   on   experience   when 

tested   by   practical    consequences.     The   ten- 
se 


TENDENCIES  OF  THE  AGE 

dency  of  this  type  of  thought  is  to  send  one  to 
actual  human  hfe  to  observe,  compare,  estimate, 
all  the  while  noting  practical  values.  If  a  be- 
lief or  theory  does  not  bear  practical  conse- 
quences, we  may  well  set  aside  this  view  for 
one  that  does  bring  results.  One  is  thus  direct- 
ed to  the  sources  of  life  for  oneself,  counseled  to 
think,  to  know  the  real  world  both  without  and 
within.  And  James  did  not  limit  his  world  to 
the  visible,  but  included  any  experience  that 
might  imply  the  existence  of  a  higher  order  of 
being.  Thus  he  did  much  to  advance  belief 
in  the  near-by  presence  of  the  spiritual  world  as 
the  source  of  higher  types  of  experience.  He 
did  not  attempt  to  explain  that  world,  he  offered 
no  picture  of  the  whole  scene  of  human  experi- 
ence. But  he  described  various  types  of  inner 
experience  with  such  sympathy  that  one  came 
to  believe  more  securely  in  the  realities  of  the 
spiritual  world.  He  also  made  such  good 
descriptions  of  the  varieties  of  religious  expe- 
rience that  the  old-time  theological  views  no 
longer  seemed  in  order. 

The  prime  result  of  this  type  of  inquiry  was 
that  life  was  put  before  thought,  experience 
before  creeds.  That  is  to  say,  men  have  come 
to  believe  in  a  spiritual  order  of  being,  in  God, 

4  37 


THE  VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

heaven,  the  future  life,  not  because  of  instruc- 
tion, but  because  they  had  certain  experiences, 
guidances,  or  impulses  to  pray.  The  test  of  the 
subsequent  beliefs  is  the  effort  on  our  part  to 
regain  similar  experiences.  If  beliefs  and  in- 
stitutions have  become  formal,  let  us  enter  into 
fresh  touch  with  life,  from  an  inner  desire  to 
worship  "in  spirit  and  truth."  Let  us  there- 
fore cling  to  life,  even  though  unable  to  fit  all 
facts  into  our  theories.  Let  us  give  faith  all  the 
opportunity  it  demands  to  win  its  great  victo- 
ries. This  conviction  means  that  spirit  uni- 
versally comes  before  form,  while  form  is  merely 
an  instrument  of  spirit,  serviceable  only  so  far 
as  it  meets  our  inner  needs.  It  means  that  to 
realize  the  presence  of  spiritual  realities  is  of 
more  consequence  than  merely  to  believe.  It 
gives  a  new  view  of  life  from  within,  opening  a 
great  world  of  possibilities. 
/  Again,  from  half  a  dozen  sources  we  are  as- 
sured that  the  mental  life  of  man  is  far  larger 
than  any  conscious  moment  lets  us  know.  For 
there  is  a  subconscious  or  "subliminal"  region 
extending  out  into  the  mental  worlds  of  other 
people,  into  the  realms  of  the  psychic  and  the 
spiritual.  The  advantage  of  this  view  is  that 
it  enables  us  to  account  for  any  number  of 

38 


TENDENCIES  OF  THE  AGE 

N  experiences  from  within  the  sphere  of  one's  own 
personaHty,  without  assuming  that  some  attend- 
ant spirit  is  whispering  in  our  ears  or  inducing 

,  visions  beyond  our  control.  We  are  learning, 
too,  about  disjoined  portions  of  our  deeper  self 

\  and  coming  to  understand  experiences  of  for- 
gotten identity.  Such  inquiries  lead  us  to  ques- 
tion whether  we  truly  know  as  yet  what  it 
means  to  be  a  single,  consistent  self,  with  a  sub- 
consciousness that  follows  our  consciousness  in 
good  and  faithful  order.  If  open  to  heights  and 
depths  undreamed  of  before,  if  there  be  doors 
which  we  have  never  learned  to  open  or  close, 
we  may  stand  in  need  of  more  comprehensive 
knowledge  which  will  show  our  whole  relation 
to  the  spiritual  world.  Already  we  know  that 
this  wonderful  deeper  self  is  ceaselessly  active, 
reshaping  the  total  subject-matter  of  our 
mental  life. 

Out  of  these  interests  we  have  been  steadily 
gaining  the  view  that  explains  life  by  what  goes 
on  within  us,  and  so  explains  it  as  to  bid  us  look 
back  of  appearances  to  causes.  From  this 
point  of  view  we  have  been  able  to  give  a  better 
account  of  the  war,  noting  the  secret  schemes 
which,  like  the  contemptible  submarine,  work 
ruin  beneath  the  surface.     We  have  seen  how 


THE  VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

much  depends  in  certain  quarters  on  the  at- 
tempt to  ignore  facts  and  motives,  with  the  hope 
that  the  world  might  be  won  by  sheer  assertion. 
Meanwhile,  we  are  all  learning  afresh  the  silent 
power  of  truth  over  against  every  effort  to  in- 
fluence public  opinion.  We  find  in  case  of  the 
remarkable  awakening  in  Russia,  which  brought 
to  the  surface  long-concealed  activities  of  a 
noble  kind,  something  like  a  great  racial  sub- 
consciousness coming  to  its  own. 

While  thus  learning  the  enormous  power  of 
an  idea,  for  good  or  ill,  we  are  also  learning  on 
psychological  grounds  that  man  is  social. 
Thus  the  whole  movement  in  behalf  of  the  inner 
life  is  a  confirmation  of  the  social  touch.  For 
man  psychologically  regarded  is  not  by  any 
means  isolated.  Every  fact  concerning  the 
subconscious  and  man's  relation  to  the  spiritual 
world  is  a  social  fact.  The  more  searchingly 
you  study  man's  inner  life  the  more  intimately 
you  find  it  tied  in  with  the  mental  life  of  others. 
As  a  creature  of  instincts,  emotions,  a  "ruling 
passion,"  his  most  private  sentiment  allies  him 
with  a  mental  group,  takes  him  into  a  social 
world.  There  is  no  way  out  of  his  subjective 
ills  save  in  the  larger  social  life  which  leads 
him  out  of  his  self-love.     The  pathway  to  sal- 

40 


TENDENCIES  OF  THE  AGE 

vation  or  regeneration  is  the  way  of  social 
change. 

The  supreme  lesson  is,  in  fact,  this  great  truth 
concerning  our  interrelatedness.  Knowledge 
does  not  necessarily  lead  to  unselfishness  and  co- 
operation, but  it  opens  the  way.  Meanwhile 
calamity  has  helped  beyond  all  calculation.  The 
war  is  in  deepest  truth  only  a  part  of  the  great 
social  regeneration  everywhere  in  process.  We 
now  see  once  for  all  that  there  was  need  of  a 
social  upheaval  which  should  touch  every  nation 
and  every  class  to  the  very  depths.  The  great 
social  issues  must  be  resolved.  We  can  no  more 
settle  these  from  the  point  of  view  of  a  single 
class,  such  as  that  of  the  manual  laborer  or  the 
plutocrat,  the  militarist  or  the  king,  than  we 
can  resolve  the  issues  by  the  creed  of  one  insti- 
tution or  church.  Man  as  a  social  being  is  both 
an  inner  being  and  an  outer;  he  dwells  both  in 
the  spiritual  world  and  in  the  natural.  His 
welfare  is  moral  and  spiritual  as  well  as  natural 
or  mundane. 

It  is  no  longer  possible  to  separate  disease, 
sin,  war,  or  any  other  evil  from  the  social  system 
out  of  which  it  has  sprung;  no  longer  in  order 
to  propose  any  remedy  which  involves  the  isola- 
tion of  peace,  to  be  sought  by  neglecting  the 

41 


THE  VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

other  essentials  such  as  justice  and  love.  We 
are  all  moving  forward  as  partners  in  a  system. 
Our  first  obligation  is  to  observe  and  move  with 
the  system  in  that  more  intimately  though  tf id 
sense  which  discloses  its  deeper,  more  promising 
tendencies.  For  right  within  the  great  stream 
of  social  tendencies,  as  in  Russia  before  the  revo- 
lution, there  are  already  moving  the  moral  and 
spiritual  powers  which  are  to  set  us  free.  No 
man  knows  when  these  deeper  forces  will 
emerge.  We  often  find  it  prudent  to  advance  as 
if  they  did  not  function,  as  if  God  did  not  exist. 
Thus  amid  exceedingly  promising  signs  of  the 
times  we  have  had  to  participate  in  the  great 
war.  But  meanwhile  we  are  responding  even 
where  we  do  not  discern,  we  are  gathering  the 
elements  of  a  more  successful  faith.  In  the 
end  our  philosophy  should  take  account  of 
these  deeper-acting  forces  so  that  reliance  on 
them  will  yield  a  yet  greater  impetus  in  behalf 
of  things  ideal. 


Ill 

THE   PSYCHOLOGY   OF   "WAR 

W'HEN  William  James  declared  that  there 
will  always  be  war,  because  of  contending 
passions  within  the  human  breast,  he  seemed 
pessimistic  in  the  extreme.  The  occasion  was 
a  banquet  following  an  international  peace  con- 
ference of  several  days'  duration.  Great  leaders 
from  the  chief  nations  had  spoken  eloquently 
for  peace  in  the  eulogistic  manner  to  which  we 
were  accustomed  before  the  war.  Many  of 
these  would  now  be  called  pacifists,  and  their 
arguments  would  call  for  careful  discrimination. 
At  that  time  even  the  milder  peace  advocates 
were  triumphant.  Professor  James  was  the 
only  speaker  whose  utterance  broke  the  agree- 
able atmosphere.  One  could  feel  the  air  grow 
chilly  as  he  went  on.  It  seemed  strange  indeed, 
to  those  who  thought  of  Mr.  James  as  a  lover 
of  his  kind,  that  he  should  be  so  skeptical  as  to 
cherish  such  a  view.     Time  has   proved  that 

43 


THE  VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

he  was  the  only  speaker  who  had  anything 
to  say. 

Until  the  great  war  burst  upon  us  we  cher- 
ished a  most  unfortunate  misconception.  We 
assumed  that  man  had  reached  the  age  of  reason 
and  were  proceeding  on  that  basis.  We  knew 
whole  groups  of  men  and  women  of  rational  age, 
we  held  many  highly  reasonable  ideals,  and  we 
supposed  the  nations  had  grown  up  too.  For 
were  we  not  in  possession  of  treaties  which 
bound  the  nations  to  respect  their  mutual 
rights,  did  we  not  look  to  the  Hague  tribunal? 
Did  not  the  growing  interest  in  disarmament 
mean  that  we  had  outgrown  war.^ 

Not  so,  our  wise  psychologist  would  have  us 
understand.  For  primarily  man  is  a  creature 
of  instincts,  impulses,  passions,  and  only  second- 
arily a  devotee  of  reason.  So  long  as  man 
lives  on  the  impulsive  level  there  will  be  strife 
between  impulses,  emotions,  and  passions,  a 
strife  likely  to  win  the  day  against  reason. 
While  there  is  conflict  within  there  is  likely  to  be 
conflict  without.  Given  suflBcient  provocation, 
men  will  rush  at  one  another's  throats  in  the 
same  old  barbaric  fashion,  as  if  reason  were 
naught.  What  we  must  reckon  with  is  human 
nature. 

44 


THE   PSYCHOLOGY  OF  WAR 

James  did  not,  of  course,  mean  that  man  is  a 
mere  creature  of  sordid  and  sensuous  passion, 
a  prey  to  the  predatory  instinct,  actuated  above 
all  by  avarice  and  greed.  He  never  denied 
progress  in  overcoming  barbaric  habits.  Nor 
did  he  discount  the  emotions,  as  if  it  were  dis- 
graceful to  be  more  actuated  by  feeling  than  by 
intellect.  His  main  emphasis  was  upon  the 
will,  and  his  psychology  of  the  will  was  the 
determining  factor  in  his  thought.  But  the 
will,  he  showed,  is  actuated  if  not  impelled  by 
whatever  interests  and  holds  the  attention. 
Most  of  our  human  interests  come  from  the 
level  of  the  desires.  The  intellect  or  under- 
standing is  only  an  instrument,  not  the  central 
or  regulative  faculty  of  our  nature.  The  intel- 
lect is  used  for  the  most  part  to  further  our 
practical  interests.  Hence  it  becomes  a  ques- 
tion of  the  prevailing  incentives  to  action. 

Moreover,  most  of  us  are  curbed  and  con- 
ventionalized, restrained  and  repressed  in  mani- 
fold ways,  with  all  that  this  means  in  loss  of 
initiative  and  energy.  Instead  of  "striking 
while  the  iron  is  hot,"  enlisting  our  energies, 
finding  some  sort  of  vent  for  our  emotions,  we 
hold  back  and  generate  troublesome  repres- 
sions.    These   pent-up  energies  are  ready  for 


45 


THE   VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

any  sort  of  mischief.  There  might  indeed  be 
"a  moral  equivalent  for  war,"  and  if  we  profited 
by  this  profound  psychology  of  the  will  we  would 
act  upon  this  hint  and  lose  no  time  in  moral 
preparedness.  What  James  meant  was  that 
until  the  equivalent  should  be  put  into  universal 
application  war  might  come  upon  the  world  at 
any  time.  His  hearers  did  not  see  the  force  of 
his  appeal  because  they  still  held  the  old-time 
theory  that  man  merely  awaits  the  right  appeal 
to  reason. 

Looking  at  the  matter  in  the  light  thus 
afforded,  we  remember  that  the  Franco- 
Prussian  War  left  many  dissatisfactions. 
France  had  to  accept  the  situation  for  the  time 
being,  but  presently  raised  her  army  to  a  higher 
standard,  with  keen  watchfulness  of  Germany. 
Spurred  on  by  motives  that  dated  back  at  least 
as  far  as  the  time  of  Frederick  the  Great  and 
had  been  enormously  intensified  by  Bismarck's 
policy  of  "blood  and  iron,"  Germany  was  pre- 
paring for  future  conflicts.  There  was  also  a 
gathering  of  national  impulses  waiting  for  a 
favorable  opportunity  to  spread  abroad  for 
conquest.  What  is  in  process  is  sure  to  rush 
forth  into  overt  action  some  day.  Likewise 
throughout  Europe  there  were  forces  gathering 

4C 


THE   PSYCHOLOGY  OF  WAR 

beneath   the   surface,   secret   jealousies,   secret 
diplomacy,  secret  planning.     What  one  nation 
did  the  others  did,  too,  for  the  world  was  still  on 
the  barbaric  level.     The  nations  became  bur- 
dened  in   the   course    of    time   as    individuals 
are   burdened  when  there   is  an  accunudation 
of  secret  or  repressed  activities.      Nothing  so 
menaces  the  peace  of  the  individual's  life  as 
inhibited    desires.     If    the    individual    is    still 
chiefly  a  creature  of  impulse,  his  impulses  will 
some   day    throw    off   the    repressions  due  to 
rational  control  and  sweep  forth  to  destruction. 
So  in  the  case  of  a  nation:  a  slight  provocation 
suffices  to  set  free  the  seething,  pent-up  energy. 
An  individual  has  advanced  no  further  than 
his   active   impulses   and   repressions   indicate. 
If  these  have  begun  to  be  enlisted  in  behalf  of 
reason,  there  is  fair  prospect  that  his  life  will  be 
free  from  war  and  that  we  may  depend  upon 
him.     But  if  he  is  ostensibly  in  pursuit  of  ration- 
al ends,  while  ignoring  or  denying  his  restrained 
impulses,  nature's  readjustment  will  some  time 
bring  his  inhibited  impulses  to  the  fore.     So,  too, 
a  nation  has  advanced  only  so  far  as  its  actual 
motives    indicate,    whatever    the    appearances 
may  be.     If  there  is  a  concealed  militaristic 
motive,  this  stronger  motive  will  be  in  the  long 

47 


THE  VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

run  triumphant.  To  rid  the  world  of  war  there 
must  be  reform  at  the  center,  the  world  must 
know  the  psychological  processes  of  the  nations. 
War  psychologically  regarded  is  a  kind  of 
beneficent  illness.  Just  as  in  the  individual 
the  repressed  desires  reach  a  point  after  a  time 
when  nothing  can  keep  them  back  and  nature 
brings  about  a  reaction,  so  in  the  world  there 
are  reactions  on  a  vast  scale.  This  is  of  course 
not  true  of  all  wars,  for  some  are  undertaken 
with  the  highest  motives  for  the  sake  of  securing 
national  liberty,  as  in  the  case  of  our  own  Revo- 
lution, or  for  the  sake  of  protecting  a  weaker  or 
betrayed  nation.  But  the  French  Revolution 
was  to  a  large  extent  a  process  of  imperative 
moral  house-cleaning.  Many  other  wars  have 
come  about  in  the  same  way.  Such  wars  are 
not  primarily  due  to  external  conditions,  how- 
ever miserable  these  may  be,  however  much 
they  demand  reform;  but  to  the  inner  conflicts 
which  can  no  longer  be  held  in  check.  A  tyrant, 
boss  or  autocrat;  a  military  caste  or  commercial 
chque  ruling  a  nation;  an  old  order  such  as  the 
dominant  social  force  of  France  prior  to  the 
Revolution — is  like  a  ruling  dogmatism  or  auto- 
cratic will  in  an  individual.  The  time  comes 
when  this  dominion  is  utterly  intolerable  and 

48 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  WAR 

must  be  thrown  ofif.     War  is  indeed  inevitable 
while  our  psychology  is  wrong. 

It  was  a  sad  awakening  that  brought  the 
world  to  the  acknowledgment  of  these  things. 
We  were  judging  altogether  by  appearances  and 
ideals.  We  supposed  it  was  impossible  that 
these  terrible  implements  of  war  should  ever  be 
used  for  the  purposes  for  which  they  were  in- 
tended. We  treated  rumors  about  spies  and 
espionage  systems  as  products  of  the  alarmist 
mind.  We  disregarded  the  menacing  fact  that 
a  prominent  European  nation  was  dominated 
by  a  military  caste  inheriting  and  profiting  by 
all  the  efficiencies  of  the  Roman  Empire. 
Assuming  that  the  nations  were  far  too  enlight- 
ened to  carry  out  any  plan  for  aggressive  war- 
fare, we  consoled  ourselves  with  the  hope  that 
the  need  for  a  defensive  war  would  never  arise. 
Hence  the  whole  great  war  was  for  the  moment  a 
mystery,  an  absolute  shock.  Many  were  en- 
tirely unable  to  reconcile  the  war  with  what  they 
took  to  be  the  state  of  the  world,  with  Christian 
truth  and  idealism.  They  were  so  far  from 
understanding  the  psychology  of  the  situation 
that  they  tried  to  explain  the  war  by  reference 
to,  a  merely  external  event.  Even  now  the 
psychological  explanation  has  barely  begun. 


49 


THE  VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

In  the  end  we  may  conclude  that  nothing 
could  have  been  more  fortunate  than  this  psy- 
chological revolution.  For  it  is  compelling  us  to 
look  the  facts  and  all  the  facts  squarely  in  the 
face.  Now  we  know  at  last  that  the  significant 
facts  are  inseparable  from  those  of  our  entire 
mental  history.  For  war  is  one  only  of  several 
expressions  of  human  nature.  It  is  a  human 
problem  in  somewhat  the  same  sense  that  the 
labor  problem  is  human,  that  the  problems  of 
sin,  evil,  misery  in  all  its  forms,  are  human.  In 
our  efforts  to  determine  the  causes  of  war  and 
make  war  impossible,  we  have  precisely  the 
same  matters  to  face  which  confront  us  when  we 
would  conquer  any  other  social  disorder. 

We  might  then  interpret  even  Heraclitus's 
famous  saying,  "War  is  the  father  of  all  things, " 
psychologically.  In  human  nature  in  its  unre- 
generate  form  there  is  duality  of  self,  there  are 
two  voices.  The  impulses  are  so  numerous,  the 
passions  so  strong,  the  emotions  so  self-center- 
ing, the  habits  so  much  in  league  with  the  lower 
desires,  that  the  higher  side  of  our  nature 
appears  to  be  in  the  minority'.  Whatever  is  in 
our  nature  is  likely  to  be  active  at  any  time, 
and  the  strongest  motive  is  likely  to  prevail. 
Most   of  us  are  divided  houses.     Hence  it  is 

50 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  WAR 

indeed  strife  that  sends  us  forth  into  experience. 
Once  on  our  long  way  toward  civiHzation,  it  is 
war  that  again  and  again  impels  us  to  go  forth 
to  action.  Sometimes  the  warfare  springs  from 
higher  than  selfish  motives.  But  it  is  still  due 
to  the  restlessness,  struggle,  and  repression  that 
can  no  longer  be  withheld.  Out  of  this  warfare 
the  divine  Providence  brings  a  measure  of 
good. 

The  cure  for  war  calls  for  deeper  self-knowl- 
edge, self-direction,  and  development.  If  we 
could  somehow  identify  our  wills  with  the 
impelling  spirit  of  good  in  the  race  as  a  whole, 
if  we  could  be  lifted  above  the  selfish  level,  we 
might  gain  civilization's  ends  without  war. 
For  the  time  being  we  are  where  we  are.  WTiat 
is  existent  and  rampant  must  be  met.  We 
must  adapt  ourselves  to  the  compelling  fact 
that  a  nation  not  yet  on  the  level  of  reason  has 
to  be  met  where  it  is.  We  may  well  look  about 
for  the  higher  methods,  but  the  fact  remains. 

Many  of  us  were  in  a  position  similar  to  that 
of  Kant,  who  tells  us  that  the  English  skeptic, 
Hume,  awoke  him  out  of  "dogmatic  slumbers." 
In  a  sense  our  slumbers  were  worse  than  dog- 
matic, for  our  dogmas  were  overgrown,  as  lux- 
uriant grass  and  running  vines  conceal  pitfalls 

51 


THE  VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

in  an  old  ruin.  Gratified  by  our  progress  in  the 
arts  and  sciences,  we  assumed  that  the  world  was 
so  far  civilized  as  to  make  a  relapse  into  bar- 
barism impossible.  Liberal  in  thought  here  in 
America,  and  weary  of  dogmas,  we  deemed  the 
whole  world  tolerant.  We  professed  great 
interest  in  psychology,  but  we  made  little  use 
of  it,  save  to  support  an  outgi'own  system  of 
education,  to  foster  salesmanship,  and  gratify 
specialists  in  laboratories  dedicated  to  measur- 
ing sensations.  We  knew  that  the  teachings  of 
the  churches  were  losing  their  hold,  but  we  did 
not  seek  the  inner  reasons.  We  knew,  too, 
that  the  modern  critical  movement,  "made  in 
Germany,"  was  undermining  belief,  but  that 
troubled  us  as  little  as  the  Prussian  espionage 
system. 

Then  came  the  great  psychological  awakening. 
Rudely  disturbed  out  of  our  sweet  dreams  of 
peace,  few  of  us  could  overcome  the  shock 
until  we  had  become  somewhat  accustomed  to 
the  new  situation.  Indications  that  the  war 
would  be  of  short  duration  gave  place  to  the 
deepening  consciousness  of  its  profound  signif- 
icance for  the  world.  In  due  time  we  began 
to  look  beyond  the  daily  record  of  horrors  for 
the  chief  lessons  to  be  learned.     External  mat- 

52 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  WAR 

ters  had  to  be  considered  first,  and  we  couid  not 
conceal  our  anxiety  lest  the  foremost  so-called 
neutral  nation  should  be  drawn  into  the  fray. 

Then  came  the  campaign  of  preparedness,  and 
the  efforts  of  various  types  of  pacifism  to  gain 
the  day.  These  issues  well  in  hand,  we  turned 
to  the  grave  questions  which  arose  in  quick 
succession  as  the  epoch  of  frightfulness  grew  in 
intensity.  We  became  accustomed  to  all  news, 
however  terrible.  Still  failing  to  learn  the  psy- 
chological lessons,  we  allowed  ourselves  to 
become  wrought  up,  notably  when  the  Lusitania 
was  sunk,  without  doing  anything,  without 
finding  an  afiirmative  expression  of  our  emo- 
tions. Thus  we  lost  moral  headway.  We 
seemed  to  be  more  actuated  by  questions  of 
mere  national  safety  and  honor  than  by  con- 
sideration of  the  moral  wrongs  wrought  in 
Europe,  of  the  disregard  of  the  principles  of 
democracy  and  liberty  for  which  our  country 
was  supposed  to  stand. 

Meanwhile,  that  everybody  might  begin  to 
view  the  war  from  within  and  learn  the  deeper 
lessons,  it  was  necessary  for  the  combatants 
to  linger  several  seasons  in  the  trenches — so  long 
does  it  take  those  who  have  cherished  fond 
illusions   to   awaken  into  productive  activity. 

5  53 


THE   VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

Then,  too,  in  our  democratic  country,  where  the 
free  expression  of  a  thousand  opinions  so  often 
blocks  progress,  it  was  necessary  to  delay  still 
longer.  We  needed  to  be  awakened  into  a  new 
sense  of  national  unity  as  a  means  of  attain- 
ing democracy  on  a  higher  level.  We  needed 
to  be  aroused  not  alone  by  the  mere  frightful- 
ness,  with  all  that  it  threatened  to  plunge  us 
into,  but  by  the  spirit  of  the  new  dispensation. 
The  war  was  not  in  any  sense  local  or  merely  ex- 
ternal, but  concerned  every  nation  to  the  last 
degree  and  the  last  individual. 

Some  of  our  fellow-men  early  charged  us  with 
indifference,  amid  unexampled  prosperity  and 
increased  facilities  for  mere  pleasure.  But 
after  all  there  are  more  significant  matters  than 
battles  and  the  sinking  of  ships.  To  throw  off 
indifference  to  the  news  is  barely  to  begin. 
There  are  many  other  matters  to  be  faced  and 
no  way  out  until  we  face  them.  Gradually  all 
our  traditional  judgments  concerning  the  Eu- 
ropean nations  were  called  in  question.  We 
learned  that  in  Russia,  once  sore  distraught 
by  opposing  parties  and  races,  there  was  a  new 
feeling  of  national  unity,  a  spiritual  awakening 
of  real  moment  making  ready  for  a  wide-spread 

revolution.     We  realized  that  England,  touched 

54 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  WAR 

to  the  quick  by  a  great  crisis  little  anticipated, 
was  being  stirred  out  of  the  conservatism  of  cen- 
turies. In  France,  where  gaiety  and  the  super- 
ficial life  were  said  to  reign,  there  began  to 
appear  a  moral  strength,  a  religious  zeal,  a  quiet 
constancy  which  made  us  question  whether  we 
had  ever  known  the  French.  In  Belgium 
"the  soul  of  a  people"  won  a  triumph  incom- 
parably greater  than  any  victory  with  machine- 
gun  or  submersible.  Memorable  too  was  the 
spirit  of  co-operation  between  the  great  nations 
called  to  battle  one  by  one,  guided  now  by  these 
leaders,  now  by  those,  never  long  by  one  man  or 
nation  alone. 

We  realized  anew  that  "the  times  that  try 
men's  souls"  are  not  times  of  unbelief  and  de- 
spair, despite  all  that  is  said  against  war  by 
those  who  specialize.  If  malevolent  energies 
are  set  free  to  cause  whatever  ruin  they  will, 
•higher  energies  are  unloosed  too.  The  faith 
that  emerges  from  the  trenches,  the  munition- 
factories  and  the  bereaved  homes  is  a  faith  to 
challenge  attention.  Even  the  unbeliever  is 
impressed.  Presently  we  see  that  the  faith 
to  inspire  these  new  heroes  had  already  been 
gathering  when  the  war  began.  War  is  an 
external  expression  of  matters  long  in  process 

55 


THE  VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

beneath  the  surface  and  already  settled  in  the 
domicile  of  the  spirit.  What  concerns  us  is  not 
the  visible  deed,  however  extensive  or  terrible; 
but  the  life  behind,  the  new  pathway  along 
which  we  shall  presently  advance.  What 
amazes  us  is  not  the  mere  frightfulness  of  the 
engines  of  war,  but  the  nation  which  could  use 
foul  means  when  honorable  means  of  making 
war  would  not  bring  success. 

We  who  have  not  been  compelled  to  take  up 
arms  can  hardly  lag  behind  those  who  have 
caught  the  new  spirit  from  actual  participation. 
We,  too,  must  consider  whether  we  have  any 
element  of  our  nature  so  debased  that  if  hard 
pressed  we  would  resort  to  frightfulness.  Sure- 
ly the  process  of  self-examination  must  be 
exceedingly  thorough.  The  reconstruction  can 
hardly  stop  with  any  class,  but  must  touch  every 
individual.  Each  one  who  looks  into  his  soul 
anew  to  see  what  is  latent  can  help.  From  our 
moments  of  serious  reflection  we  may  then  re- 
turn as  from  a  holiday  with  the  impetus  of  the 
man  who  has  found  himself. 

We  are  beginning  to  realize  at  last  that  the 
war  was  "the  inevitable  result  of  a  consistent 
policy  on  the  part  of  each  one  of  us,"  as  one 
writer  frankly  puts  it.     The  same  writer  goes 

56 


THE   PSYCHOLOGY  OF  WAR 

on  to  say  that  "neither  an  overcrowded  world, 
a  mahgnant  fate,  nor  a  mahcious  enemy  has 
brought  this  war  on  us."  It  has  come  because 
we  still  tolerated  the  mode  of  life  that  made  it 
possible,  because  of  the  insidious  fears,  the 
hidden  mistrust,  race  hatreds,  commercial  rival- 
ries, together  with  secret  machinations  of  the 
militarists  who  made  the  most  of  all  these 
motives.  While  then  it  was  from  the  first 
"an  atrocious  war,"  as  one  of  our  financiers 
named  it,  it  was  also  from  the  first  a  benevolent 
war,  since  it  disclosed  "the  consistent  policy" 
out  of  which  it  arose. 

The  terrible  summons  was  above  all  an  appeal 
to  each  to  return  to  his  own.  Thus  every  idle 
tourist,  visitor,  or  explorer,  as  well  as  every 
reservist,  was  called  to  his  country  and  his 
colors,  to  test  everything  anew,  from  patriotism 
and  the  great  forms  of  government  to  religion 
and  the  sacred  life  of  home.  When  the  time 
again  comes  to  scatter  and  travel  to  foreign 
lands,  may  the  new  call  find  us  free  from  all 
bitterness  and  provincialism.  It  will  be  no 
small  attainment  to  substitute  brotherly  love 
for  the  animosities  which  have  been  keeping  us 
apart. 

What  we  are  concerned  with  is  the  total  level 

57 


THE  VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

of  human  society  disclosed  by  the  sad  fact  that 
such  a  war  was  possible,  after  all  the  preaching, 
the  idealisms,  the  treaties,  the  Hague  tribunal. 
We  may  well  face  the  facts  without  flinching, 
not  pessimistic,  not  skeptical,  but  with  the 
determination  to  see  society  as  it  is  and  see  it 
whole.  The  gain  is  enormous  if  we  realize  that 
the  world  really  was  not  civilized,  not  cultured, 
not  Christian;  that  only  individuals  here  and 
there  were  Christians.  Time  is  too  precious 
for  lamentations.  Real  facts  are  so  much  more 
valuable  than  theories  founded  on  dreams  that 
we  may  count  ourselves  highly  fortunate. 
We  know  at  last  w^here  to  begin,  if  we  would  rid 
the  world  of  war.  We  must  meet  the  whole 
human  situation  precisely  where  it  is,  without 
misconception  or  evasion,  without  ungrounded 
hopes,  always  making  allowances  for  those 
deep-lying  activities  which  work  wonders,  as  in 
the  case  of  the  Russian  revolution. 

Instead  of  advocating  peace  in  general,  and 
inveighing  against  war  in  general,  we  may  now 
strike  at  the  vital  center.  For  we  see  that  a 
nation  in  the  stage  of  anxious  jealousy,  with 
hidden  schemes  and  unrelenting  militarism 
likely  to  lapse  into  barbarism,  is  where  these 
mental  processes  indicate,  not  on  its  pretended 

58 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  WAR 

level  of  friendship,  and  that  it  must  be  so 
regarded.  It  will  not  even  suffice  to  have  a 
league  to  enforce  peace,  if  this  shall  mean  new 
repressions  or  concealed  intentions  likely  to 
produce  discord.  If,  for  example,  a  nation  just 
rising  from  the  stinging  blows  of  defeat  cherishes 
hatreds  gathered  during  the  war,  these  repressed 
animosities  must  be  taken  into  account.  If 
rational  methods  do  not  wholly  displace  them, 
they  may  gather  headway  during  a  generation. 
Nations  that  feel  hate  do  not  readily  throw  it  off. 
Those  that  teach  even  their  children  to  cherish 
hate  and  to  pray  for  vengeance  upon  the  nation 
which  chanced  to  spoil  a  long-cherished  plan, 
are  as  much  to  be  reckoned  with  as  those  that 
build  ships  and  airplanes.  An  enforced  peace 
or  even  a  treaty  may  be  merely  a  blind.  Na- 
tions are  governed  by  what  they  really  feel,  not 
by  what  they  claim  to  feel.  We  need  a  league  to 
enforce  peace  only  so  far  as  we  are  not  yet  able 
to  trust.  A  nation  that  distrusts  others  may 
not  be  guiltless  itself.  Any  external  arrange- 
ment or  treaty  is  in  a  sense  a  makeshift  or 
device.  What  we  need  is  an  adequate  moral 
equivalent  for  the  scheming  which  generates 
more  trouble  the  moment  the  latest  war  is  over. 
If  it  appear  that  man  is  incurably  a  creature 

59 


THE   VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

of  impulse  and  passion,  so  far  as  his  earthly 
career  is  concerned,  then  let  us  proceed  accord- 
ingly, whatever  military  preparedness  may  be 
required.  But  we  have  made  little  effort  to 
attain  the  age  of  reason.  We  begin  in  the 
wrong  way.  We  assume  that  men  ought  to 
listen  to  reason,  even  though  they  do  not.  Our 
theories  appeal  to  us  with  such  force  that  we 
are  sure  everybody  w^ill  accept  them  as  soon  as 
our  views  are  plainly  stated.  Our  educational 
systems  are  based  on  the  assumption  that  the 
intellect  is  the  ruling  power  in  man.  Hence  we 
spend  our  time  trying  to  do  the  impossible. 

In  other  connections  we  are  much  more 
intelligent.  If  we  wish  to  gain  a  point  with  a 
man,  we  invite  him  to  dine,  we  appeal  to  his 
senses  to  the  best  of  our  ability,  before  we 
broach  the  crucial  matter.  The  plays  people 
enjoy,  the  novels  they  read,  the  newspapers 
they  tolerate,  and  a  hundred  other  matters 
give  evidence  of  the  mental  level  thus  far 
attained.  We  are  fairly  wise  concerning  mat- 
ters of  the  heart,  and  not  many  of  us  cherish 
illusions' concerning  the  moral  life  of  our  time. 
But  then  we  turn  about  and  expect  people  to 
accept  religious  doctrines  out  of  the  air,  we 
expect  religion  or  some  other  social  force  to 

60 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  WAR 

perform  miracles  for  the  race  while  we  sleep. 
We  foster  the  illusion  that  the  same  peo- 
ple who  are  plainly  on  the  impulsive  and 
emotional  levels  when  it  is  a  question  of  be- 
ing fed  or  amused  are  going  to  turn  about 
and  act  like  lovers  of  the  calmest  and  sanest 
reason. 

We  cannot  too  strongly  Insist  that  the  present 
great  awakening  will  prove  deeply  significant 
for  the  life  of  the  spirit.  For  it  will  give  us  a 
great  new  impetus  in  the  study  of  history  and 
of  human  nature  when  we  learn  that  neither  in 
point  of  origin  nor  in  point  of  approach  is  man 
primarily  intellectual.  For  example,  man  has 
deep-stirring  emotions,  inner  needs,  experiences, 
long  before  he  takes  interest  in  doctrines  or 
creeds.  Throughout  history  and  to-day  it  is 
what  he  desires  or  loves,  not  what  he  believes, 
that  signifies.  His  beliefs  are  more  or  less  ade- 
quate expressions  of  what  he  has  lived  through. 
Hence  to  appeal  to  him  you  must  approach 
him  on  the  side  of  his  affections,  appeal  to  his 
inner  life.  To  the  end  of  time  this  will  be  the 
case,  even  when  the  level  of  his  desires  is  lifted 
above  war.  To  the  end  of  time  the  will  rather 
than  the  intellect  will  be  the  center  of  his  na- 
ture.    Thus  even  the  age  of  reason  which  is  yet 

61 


THE  VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

to  dawn  will  be  subordinate  to  the  spirit  which 
will  call  it  into  being. 

We  need  not  look  beyond  this  atrocious  war 
to  find  evidences  that  the  intellect  is  an  instru- 
ment rather  than  the  guiding  power.  All  the 
intellectual  forces  the  nations  could  summon 
have  been  used  to  beat  the  adversary,  because 
of  the  will-to-power  on  the  one  side,  and  the 
will-to-conquer  for  the  moral  ideal  on  the  other. 
Behind  all  the  rivalry  of  guns  and  airplanes 
has  been  the  rivalry  of  ideas.  Never  have  such 
efforts  been  put  forth  to  win  people  by  sheer 
propagandism.  Never  has  news  been  so  skil- 
fully manipulated.  The  submarine  was  the 
last  device  of  a  nation  determined  to  win  by 
skill  in  the  mobilization  of  ideas.  Scholars, 
clergymen,  social  democrats,  and  all,  were  per- 
suaded by  the  same  subtle  innuendo.  All  were 
compelled  to  do  homage  to  the  state  as  a  great 
psychological  entity  of  more  value  than  all  the 
virtues  in  the  world.  Even  an  obvious  defeat 
entailing  vast  losses  in  men  and  guns  was  in- 
terpreted to  mean  a  masterly  bit  of  strategy. 
Every  possible  malicious  motive  was  attributed 
to  the  opposing  nations  in  order  to  sustain  the 
enormous  idea  of  the  superman. 

It  would  be  possible  to  exaggerate  the  in- 

62 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  WAR 

fluence  of  the  ideas  which  had  been  gathering 
for  more  than  a  century,  the  ideas  which  at 
length  inspired  Nietzsche  and  the  other  prophets 
of  "the  mailed  fist."  For  most  of  these  ideas 
had  a  noble  origin  in  the  minds  of  Kant, 
Fichte,  Hegel,  and  the  others;  and  these  were 
all  great  men.  Nevertheless,  these  same  noble 
men  argued  with  great  calmness  of  conviction 
to  show  that  all  things  of  value  in  the  world  and 
in  Christianity  culminated  in  Germany.  The 
idea  of  the  superman,  of  the  Kultur  which  should 
rule  the  world,  was  growing  even  then.  All 
that  was  needed  to  produce  the  war  was  a 
degradation  of  these  ideas  to  mundane  motives 
and  a  union  with  the  policy  of  "blood  and  iron" 
which  should  make  them  externally  efficient. 
The  German  thinkers  were  not  to  blame.  It 
was  the  materialism  of  the  latter  half  of  the 
nineteenth  century  which  supplied  the  motive. 
It  was  the  genius  of  the  physical  sciences  that 
provided  the  machines.  Thus  the  war  brought 
to  the  surface  the  worst  elements  of  German 
philosophy,  that  the  true  Germans,  the  people 
at  large,  might  in  the  future  recover  the  best. 
What  we  object  to,  therefore,  is  not  the  intel- 
lect, not  the  idea  or  national  afiirmativeness,  or 
even  the  sway  of  national  motives.     In  fact, 

63 


THE  VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

it  is  those  who  have  most  skilfully  used  all  these 
means  who  have  best  taught  us  how  to  proceed. 
The  psychological  machinery  is  in  itself  thor- 
oughly good.  What  we  object  to  is  the  degra- 
dation of  reason  and  the  enslavement  of  people 
to  an  idea.  In  the  face  of  this  vast  misuse  of 
efficiency,  with  its  system  of  spies,  its  aids  de- 
rived from  chemistry  and  the  genius  of  invent- 
ors, we  had  to  confess  ourselves  impotent  at 
first.  As  supposed  prophets  of  reason  and  of 
Christian  love  we  have  not  been  even  half  so 
well  organized.  Had  it  not  been  for  the  safety 
granted  us  by  the  British  fleet  during  the  first 
years  of  the  war,  even  after  our  own  country 
declared  war,  we  would  have  been  at  the  mercy 
of  this  organized  skill  with  scarcely  anything 
to  rival  it  save  in  the  inhibitive  moral  zeal 
which  we  had  been  storing  away  from  the  day 
Belgium  was  invaded.  We  may  be  grateful 
indeed  for  the  opportunity  kind  fortune  gave  us 
quietly  to  study  the  situation,  to  learn  its  real 
animus. 

Even  Russia  under  the  old  system  displayed 
greater  moral  unity  and  efficiency  than  we, 
while  we  were  praising  peace  and  trying  to  be 
neutral.  For  Russia  could  abolish  vodka  in  a 
day,  while  we  had  all  the  concealed  devices  of 


THE   PSYCHOLOGY  OF  WAR 

the  liquor  traflBc  to  try  to  contend  with;  Russia 
could  summon  vast  forces  to  meet  a  national 
peril,  while  we  were  entertained  by  Senators, 
Representatives,  and  pacifists  who  cherished 
self-assertion  above  democracy.  It  was  Russia 
at  last  that  gave  us  the  final  example  of  true 
national  unity.  Well  may  we  meditate  on  the 
psychological  history  of  our  nation  since  August, 
1914. 


IV 

THE   HIGHER   RESISTANCE 

MANY  good  things  have  been  said  about 
non-resistance  since  the  great  war  burst 
upon  us.  The  fact  that  the  subject  has  been 
ardently  discussed  is  evidence  that  the  princi- 
ple is  not  yet  understood.  But  the  discussion 
has  tended  on  the  whole  to  externalities.  The 
critics  think  they  have  disposed  of  the  matter 
by  showing  the  futility  of  passive  acquiescence 
in  times  of  war.  To  be  non-resistant  is  to  be 
some  sort  of  peace  advocate,  and  just  now 
pacifists  are  in  disfavor.  Non-resistance  might 
be  practical  if  we  were  regenerated,  if  we  lived 
under  an  ideal  order  of  society,  so  other  critics 
assure  us.  Meanwhile,  the  only  sensible  course 
is  to  adapt  ourselves  to  this  mundane  order, 
leaving  visionary  ideals  for  some  remote  period 
when  human  nature  shall  be  radically  different. 
It  is  not  a  time,  however,  for  mere  generali- 
ties.   If  it  were  a  ciuestion  of  pacifism,  we  would 

66 


THE  HIGHER  RESISTANCE 

need  to  point  out  that  pacifists  are  distributed 
through  the  whole  series  of  human  attitudes 
from  the  weak-kneed  man  who  would  run  from 
trouble,  the  easy-going  conservative  who  wants 
things  to  remain  precisely  as  they  are,  and  the 
peace  advocate  who  thinks  that  the  sending  out 
of  "good  thoughts"  is  sufficient,  up  to  the  virile 
and  the  fighting  pacifist.     Surely  we  should  not 
classify  under  the  same  head  those  mortals  who 
blocked  preparedness  in  our  land  for  two  years — 
when  we  might  have  been  making  ready  to  do 
our  part  in  stopping  the  slaughter  in  Europe — 
with  such  high-minded  people  as  the  Friends, 
who,  never  guilty  of  treason,  have  done  so  much 
for  peace  in  the  world.     Nor  should  the  Ameri- 
can  pacifists    whose    activities    became    indis- 
tinguishable   at   last    from    pro-Teutonism    be 
confused  with  such  Englishmen  as  Mr.  Wells, 
who,    having    avowed    himself    "an    extreme 
pacifist,"  goes  on  to  say  that  he  is  "against 
the  man  who  first  takes  up  the  weapon,"  and 
then  expresses  his  conviction  that  the  war  must 
be  fought  to  a  finish  so  as  to  end  the  horrible 
thing  forever.     Personally,  I  have  failed  to  find 
so  much  as  one  pacifist  who  did  not  begin  to 
qualify  his  doctrine  before  he  had  spoken  half 
an  hour.     It  was  pleasing  to  see  how  many 

67 


THE   VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

changed  their  attitude  after  President  Wilson 
made  his  great  address  to  Congress. 

As  matter  of  fact,  pacifism  in  all  its  forms 
belongs  in  one  "universe  of  discourse,"  while 
the  question  of  non-resistance  pertains  to  an- 
other. To  discredit  pacifism  is  not  to  settle 
the  age-long  issues  of  the  Christian  gospel. 
We  have  scarcely  touched  the  matter  when  we 
discount  non-resistance,  as  if  it  meant  willing- 
ness to  be  imposed  on,  passivity  with  respect 
to  the  existence  of  evil  in  the  world.  Nor  do  we 
dispose  of  the  matter  by  discounting  the  gentler 
virtues,  after  the  manner  of  Nietzsche,  as  if 
these  virtues  were  alone  eligible  in  India  or  in 
some  ideal  state  yet  to  be.  We  may  consider 
the  question  with  Tolstoy  and  still  realize  that 
it  is  not  settled.  The  Friends  have  stood 
admirably  for  the  principle,  and  yet  it  is  a 
question  whether  we  in  America  could  follow 
those  conscientious  objectors  in  England  who 
have  gone  to  jail  rather  than  take  orders  from  a 
military  official.  Our  solution  must  be  positive, 
affirmative;  not  one  that  leads  us  to  stand  apart 
in  an  hour  of  national  peril.  It  were  a  pity  to 
judge  the  gospel  by  those  who  disavow  patriot- 
ism, as  if  that  were  what  Christianity  means. 

To  understand  the  matter,  we  may  confidcnt- 

68 


THE  HIGHER  RESISTANCE 

ly  say,  is  to  begin  by  approaching  it  psycholog- 
ically, putting  other  disputed  issues  aside  for  the 
moment.  We  cannot  expect  to  see  the  force 
of  non-resistance  as  a  social  factor  unless  we 
have  tested  it  in  the  realm  of  inner  experience. 
To  avoid  misapprehension,  let  us  translate  the 
idea  into  positive  terms  and  regard  it  anew  as 
the  higher  resistance. 

First  let  us  ask  what  it  means  to  resist.  To 
answer  is  to  realize  afresh  that  we  are  creatures 
not  only  of  habit,  but  of  instinct,  impulse, 
emotion.  Note,  for  example,  how  strong  is  the 
impulse  to  strike  back,  to  render  blow  for  blow 
in  response  to  the  instinct  of  self-preservation. 
It  is  not  strange  that  men  came  to  believe  that 
"might  makes  right,"  nor  that  the  world  still 
in  a  measure  defends  the  idea  that  "necessity 
knows  no  law."  Valor  and  success  seem  to 
pertain  to  the  most  cunning  and  the  most 
strong.  Physical  force  is  apparently  the  su- 
preme power  of  the  world,  and  the  philosophy 
of  evolution  seems  to  prove  that  this  has  always 
been  the  case:  "the  survival  of  the  fittest"  is 
the  persistence  of  the  strongest.  The  fierce 
struggle  for  existence  out  of  which  we  have 
emerged  naturally  leads  us  all  to  this  conclusion. 
Then,  too,  the  tendency  "to  get  even"  is  active 

6  69 


THE   VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

among  individuals,  while  among  nations  the 
tendency  to  make  reprisals  is  still  strong.  By 
the  time  we  have  conquered  our  self-defensive- 
ness  as  a  physical  principle,  we  have  begun  to 
wield  other  weapons  such  as  winged  and  biting 
words,  words  full  of  hatred  and  sarcasm. 
There  are  infinite  ways  of  hitting  back.  Intel- 
lectually we  defend  ourselves  to  the  limit. 
Pride  enters  when  other  motives  fail.  Multi- 
form indeed  are  our  w^ays  of  resisting  on  the 
lower  level.  Generally  speaking,  we  tend  to 
give  like  for  like.  It  is  not  easy  to  draw  lines 
of  distinction  between  offensive  and  defensive 
resistance. 

What  now  does  it  mean  to  abstain?  In  the 
face  of  these  almost  endless  ways  of  returning 
an  eye  for  an  eye,  it  means  greatly  strengthened 
effort  of  another  sort.  Nothing  is  easier  than 
to  respond  to  an  impulse  and  hit  back.  To 
return  a  blow  for  a  blow  is  so  simple  that, 
psychologically  speaking,  obedience  means  ac- 
quiescence in  conventional  modes  of  response. 
But  to  check  the  impulse  and  express  higher 
power  is  another  matter.  To  inhibit  hatred, 
for  example,  and  manifest  love  for  one's  enemies 
is  no  slight  attainment.  Such  conduct  implies 
self-knowledge,  inner  control,  the  adoption  of  a 

70 


THE   PIIGIIER  RESISTANCE 

spiritual  standard.  It  means  that  one  takes 
exception  to  habit,  instinct,  impulse,  emotion, 
in  each  case  selecting  nobler  motives  and  higher 
forms  of  expression.  There  is  nothing  weak  in 
a  victory  like  this.  To  control  one's  spirit 
is  indeed  greater  than  to  take  a  city.  Hence 
when  we  see  a  man  refraining  from  external 
deeds  or  "going  the  second  mile,"  we  may  well 
consider  what  lies  behind. 

It  is  long  before  we  gain  the  idea  in  all  serious- 
ness as  a  mode  of  action  that  applies  all  along 
the  line.  So  strong  is  habit  that  we  ordinarily 
act  before  we  think,  then  defend  our  action  as  if 
justifiable.  When  our  personal  interests  are 
assailed  we  believe  no  one  will  care  for  them  un- 
less we  do,  so  we  adopt  the  usual  methods  of 
self-protection.  Knowledge  of  human  society 
and  of  history  seems  to  justify  us  in  this  regard 
for  "number  one."  On  the  other  hand,  to 
entertain  the  feasibility  of  the  higher  resistance 
is  to  call  in  question  a  whole  horizon  of  motives 
apparently  supported  on  the  best  ground. 
To  take  a  stand  in  favor  of  the  higher  resistance 
means,  in  fact,  to  ally  oneself  with  a  different 
order  of  being,  seriously  to  contemplate  for  the 
first  time  the  powers  that  make  for  success  in 
the  spiritual  life. 

71 


THE  VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

Man  is  essentially  a  reactive  being.  He 
makes  some  sort  of  response  to  environment  and 
the  events  that  arise  within  it,  whatever  the 
character  of  the  event  and  whatever  his  state  of 
mind.  Psychologically  speaking,  his  responses 
can  best  be  described  as  resistances.  Even  the 
most  passive  state  of  mind  is  in  a  sense  a  re- 
sistance. It  is  measured  by  what  it  does,  not 
by  what  it  refrains  from  or  neglects.  We  also 
judge  it  by  the  motives  which  prompted  it,  and 
by  the  external  results  to  which  it  leads.  But 
even  when  it  is  a  merely  habitual  response  to  a 
deed  which  prompts  a  person  to  render  blow  for 
blow,  it  is  primarily  active  resistance.  The 
response  is  to  be  understood  in  accordance  with 
the  external  event,  such  as  a  deed  expressing 
anger,  which  called  it  forth;  the  impulses  or 
other  promptings  active  in  making  the  response, 
such  as  a  triumphant  temptation  to  strike  back; 
and  in  relation  to  other  activities  within  the  self 
which  might  have  overcome  the  temptation 
had  they  been  stronger.  In  case  of  the  higher 
resistance,  therefore,  the  center  of  interest  lies 
in  the  intervening  activity  from  within  the  self 
which  had  the  power  to  check  both  the  tempta- 
tion and  the  resulting  action  which  it  would 

have  secured.     To  understand  the  higher  re- 

7« 


THE  HIGHER  RESISTANCE 

sistance  we  need  to  take  account  of  the  nature 
of  the  self  and  all  the  nobler  social  influences  by 
which  the  self  may  be  strengthened  in  its  effort 
to  conquer  temptation. 

Hence  our  inquiry  naturally  turns  upon  a 
study  of  mental  attitudes  and  the  activities 
by  which  they  are  reinforced.  There  is  often 
an  impressive  difference  between  the  acquies- 
cent attitude  and  the  affirmative.  To  yield  in 
spirit  may  be  to  become  greatly  disquieted,  to 
express  oneself  in  violent  action,  as  when  one 
strikes  a  blow.  Here  is  a  typical  case  of  resist- 
ance as  the  world  views  it.  Not  to  yield  in 
spirit  is  to  exercise  sufficient  power  to  inhibit 
any  instinct,  habit,  impulse,  emotion,  or  idea 
tending  to  encourage  "a  blow  for  a  blow"; 
hence  to  be  in  the  affirmative  attitude,  hence  to 
refrain  from  indulging  in  the  deed  which  the 
world  knows  as  resistance.  The  affirmative 
attitude  as  here  interpreted  is  the  one  that 
expresses  the  larger,  truer,  nobler  self,  what- 
ever the  external  conduct  may  be.  Ordinarily, 
what  the  world  calls  resistance  debases  the  self. 

The  affirmative  attitude  is  a  power  because 
adopted  by  the  individual  through  alliance 
with  all  the  energies  of  his  better  selfhood. 
It   expresses   true   courage,   moral   conviction, 

73 


THE  VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

fidelity  to  truth,  loyalty  to  humanity,  faith  in 
God.  In  a  negative  attitude  one  sinks  into 
self— that  is,  into  a  part  of  the  self,  that  part 
which  fears  to  question  tradition,  social  prec- 
edent, habit,  and  the  rest.  To  be  whole,  to 
call  the  entire  self  into  action,  is  to  look  abroad 
and  above  with  the  realization  that  the  virtues 
are  social  forces,  too,  that  God  is  on  the  side  of 
the  right.  In  the  affirmative  attitude  one  al- 
ways takes  exception,  one  faces  the  multitude, 
with  the  odds  apparently  in  favor  of  custom, 
temptation,  and  the  long  list  of  habitual  im- 
pulses. Reason  is  nearly  always  in  the  minor- 
ity when  its  work  begins.     Love  faces  a  world 

of  hate. 

Sincerity,  any  virtue  still  in  debate  would 
serve  to  illustrate  the  contrast.  We  are  apt 
to  discount  sincerity  when  it  is  a  question  of 
conventional  society;  we  discount  honesty  in  the 
business  world.  But  what  a  power  sincen'ty  is 
in  the  world  where  conventionality  rules!  what 
a  power  honesty  is  even  in  the  business  world! 
We  do  not  praise  the  clergyman  who  withholds 
his  real  views  while  expounding  doctrines  which 
he  has  outgrown:  we  note  what  a  power  he 
would  be  were  he  to  come  forth  with  what  in 
his  heart  he  truly  believes.     We  go  out  of  our 

74 


THE  HIGHER  RESISTANCE 

way  to  patronize  the  honest  tradesman.  We 
know  that  if  he  fails  it  is  for  other  reasons. 
There  is  a  power  in  such  virtues  scarcely  to  be 
measured.  In  every  branch  of  human  society 
one  finds  evidences  of  the  silent  operation  of 
these  powers.  By  daring  to  take  a  stand  in 
their  favor  one  concentrates  upon  a  single  ideal 
which  might  otherwise  be  overcome.  Thus  all 
the  forces  that  make  for  true  success  belong 
with  the  affirmative  attitude. 

If,  for  example,  a  critic  or  alleged  enemy 
accuses  me  unjustly,  I  need  say  nothing  at  first. 
What  I  should  do  is  to  ask  myself  what  is  true 
from  the  point  of  view  of  fact  and  the  right. 
By  so  doing  I  shift  my  center  of  activity  and 
identify  myself  with  this  the  greater  power 
which  is  able  to  dispel  the  falsity.  An  attempt 
at  self-defense  would  be  an  expression  of  weak- 
ness, a  confession  of  guilt  or  partial  guilt. 
People  do  not  need  to  deny  what  is  not  true. 
We  may  well  be  suspicious  when  people  stoutly 
protest  that  there  is  no  truth  in  a  personal 
judgment  passed  upon  them,  especially  if  they 
seem  very  anxious  to  try  one  line  of  defense 
after  another,  that  they  may  quickly  settle  the 
matter  and  change  the  subject.  Such  prot- 
estations  are   usually   calculated    to    mislead. 


THE  VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

They  are  like  the  "inspired  news"  sent  forth 
by  a  defeated  nation  and  intended  to  distract 
attention  from  a  great  loss  suffered  on  land  or 
sea.  Had  there  been  no  defeat  there  would  be 
no  reason  to  deny  it,  or  to  circulate  a  report  of  al- 
leged victory.  The  real  victor  need  not  advertise. 
In  brief,  truth  has  an  enormous  power  in  the 
world.  To  become  aware  of  the  evidences  is  to 
find  ourselves  absorbed  in  an  investigation  so  en- 
gaging that  there  is  no  longer  room  for  denials. 
It  is  not  only  impossible  to  keep  the  truth  from 
the  people  for  any  considerable  length  of  time, 
even  where  there  is  persistent  effort  to  mislead 
by  sending  out  inspired  news,  but  error  tries  to 
outdistance  truth  in  its  effort  to  set  matters 
right.  The  head  that  wears  a  crown  is  not  the 
only  one  that  is  uneasy.  It  is  not  alone  murder 
that  "will  out."  Conscience  is  a  universal 
irritant.  It  is  only  a  minority  of  the  peoi)le 
that  can  be  misled  all  of  the  time.  The  strong 
nation  is  not  the  one  that  steadily  misinforms 
the  people  and  imprisons  those  who  dare  to 
question  the  governmental  policy,  not  the  one 
that  breaks  international  law  and  resorts  to 
stabs  in  the  back  through  the  air  and  under  the 
sea;  it  is  the  one  that  dares  to  stand  by  what 

is  right  even  when  pressed  to  the  limit. 

76 


THE   HIGHER  RESISTANCE 

Most  of  all,  note  the  impressiveness  of  silence. 
Other  things  being  equal,  nothing  so  piques  our 
curiosity  as  the  reserve  of  one  who  refuses  to 
talk  when  action  is  customary.  One  does  not 
mean  mere  "watchful  waiting."  That  is  a 
device  to  be  considered  in  another  connection. 
One  now  means  the  more  positive  abstinence 
sometimes  condemned  as  sheer  folly  but  enlist- 
ing the  admiration  of  the  thoughtful  onlooker. 
Depth  of  thought  requires  a  large  measure  of 
the  silence  which  abstains.  To  act  quickly  is, 
for  most  of  us,  to  act  impulsively;  hence  we 
/  foster  the  habit  of  "walking  alone"  if  we  are 
\  seriously  bent  on  avoiding  mistakes.  The  pro- 
found man  abstains  in  the  face  of  unjust  accusa- 
tion and  hostility  because  he  is  in  touch  with  a 
higher  level  of  power.  He  refrains  because  he 
is  not  serving  two  masters. 

Strictly  speaking,  it  is  never  a  question  of 
external  conduct.  Whether  we  express  our- 
selves outwardly  or  refrain  from  visible  deeds, 
it  is  a  question  of  the  interior  attitude  or  spirit. 
The  gospel  does  not  bid  men  refrain  from  the 
use  of  physical  means.  It  counsels  them  to 
avoid  malice,  the  sentiment  of  revenge.  It 
advises  every  man  to  begin  with  himself,  to 
purify  his  own  thoughts  and  desires,  overcome 

77 


THE  VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

his  lusts,  his  envy,  jealousy,  anger,  hatred,  and 
every  incentive  to  action  in  league  with  the  old 
law  of  an  eye  for  an  eye.  It  shows  how  easy  it 
is  merely  to  resist  as  the  world  counts  resistance, 
to  love  those  who  love  us,  and  work  with  those 
who  are  on  our  side.  The  basest  villain  could 
do  that.  What  is  worthy  of  a  man  is  what 
the  gospel  asks  us  to  consider  and  to  act  upon. 

One  might  give  the  cloak  also  or  walk  the 
second  mile,  or  one  might  not.  That  would 
be  a  minor  matter.  All  would  depend  upon  the 
purpose  in  view.  If  the  one  who  ungraciously 
received  the  first  gift  should  be  proffered  the 
cloak  also,  it  might  be  well  for  his  good  to  make 
the  offer.  To  go  the  second  mile  might  be  to 
help  a  brother  to  get  something  out  of  his  sys- 
tem. He  who  has  conquered  his  spirit  is  in  a 
position  to  use  external  means  aright.  He  who 
has  not  yet  conquered  his  spirit  is  a  victim  of 
circumstances  and  his  deeds  have  no  particular 
significance. 

The  sermon  on  the  moimt  is  not  a  catalogue 
of  external  deeds  mete  for  all  occasions.  It 
affords  a  rule  for  the  human  spirit,  indicating 
what  must  be  conc[uered,  what  favored.  Con- 
demnation should  be  met  with  forgiveness  and 
equanimity.     It  will  fall  upon  every  one  of  us 

78 


THE  HIGHER  RESISTANCE 

sooner  or  later,  whatever  we  ao  or  say,  whoever 
we  are.  Persecution  may  come  too.  Every 
one  encounters  it  who  vahantly  espouses  a 
genuine  cause.  There  is  every  reason  to  be 
patient.  We  should  avoid  all  ill-will.  Life  is 
too  full  of  opportunities  to  afford  time  to 
answer  one's  critics.  There  is  a  higher  justice 
than  that  of  the  courts,  and  its  power  is  invin- 
cible. The  laborer  is  worthy  of  his  hire  and 
will  receive  it.  The  divine  Providence  is  over 
all,  even  over  the  least  of  considerations  in  the 
humblest  life.  It  is  love  that  makes  might. 
To  espouse  love  as  a  gospel  is  to  have  a  positive 
program.  The  difficulty  is  that  so  little  has 
been  done  in  all  the  Christian  centuries  to  bring 
together  the  individuals  who  affirm  the  law  of 
love. 

It  is  not  primarily  a  question  of  contrasted 
lines  of  action,  inner  or  outer,  but  of  lesser  and 
greater  goods  and  the  ultimate  purpose  to  be 
attained.  Hence  one  should  look  for  consist- 
ency not  in  a  person's  deeds,  but  in  his  spirit, 
this  personality  and  life-purpose.  A  weak- 
minded  person  will  be  weak  and  vacillating  in 
nearly  all  his  actions.  A  master  man  will  make 
a  great  success  of  the  higher  resistance.  Always 
in  a  person  of  pronounced  character  we  feel 

79 


THE  VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

the  power  of  the  man  above  his  deeds.  In  case 
of  the  spiritually  quickened  we  feel  that  behind 
the  gentle  virtues  and  the  wise  tenderness  there 
is  the  strength  of  Almighty  God.  "God  and 
one  make  a  majority. "  He  who  thus  makes  the 
venture  against  all  odds  is  continually  doing  the 
unexpected.  The  greatest  instance  of  this  is  in 
the  case  of  the  Master,  who  utters  gentle  words 
of  affection  when  the  multitude  anticipates 
positive  condemnation  of  the  sinner,  who  comes 
forth  with  vigorous  utterances  when  meeting 
blind  guides  and  hypocrites  of  whom  the  crowd 
approves.  The  climax  comes  when  he  submits 
to  arrest  and  undergoes  crucifixion,  instead  of 
escaping  through  the  crowd.  Never  was  an 
apparently  weak  thing  done  in  such  a  strong 
way.  It  is  not  the  death  on  the  cross  that  sig- 
nifies, but  the  great  convincing  life  that  went 
forth. 

In  actual  life  we  often  approximate  the  gospel 
without  realizing  it.  That  is,  we  are  quick  to 
adapt  ourselves  to  the  situation.  Sometimes 
we  use  gentle  persuasion.  Again,  everybody 
agrees  that  a  violently  insane  person  must  be 
restrained.  We  employ  policemen  and  other 
wielders  of  force  of  various  kinds  to  be  used 
with  discretion  upon  occasion.     When  a  great 

80 


/ 


THE  HIGHER  RESISTANCE 

flood  occurs  or  when  a  conflagration  breaks  out, 
we  adopt  regulations  which  we  would  object 
to  when  martial  law  is  out  of  order.  In  our 
homes  we  are  sometimes  in  a  state  of  unstable 
equilibrium  because  of  needed  adjustments  to 
varying  conditions.  On  principle  we  may 
object  to  all  coercive  methods,  to  all  severe 
discipline  and  any  sort  of  punishment;  yet  we 
must  continually  adapt  ourselves  to  the  occa- 
sion, when  wilful  children  are  in  evidence. 
Most  of  the  time  we  are  in  process  of  approxi- 
mation to  our  ideals.  It  is  plainly  impossible 
to  enforce  a  principle  apart  from  the  conditions 
to  which  it  must  be  adapted. 

Sometimes  the  best  way  to  help  a  person, 
young  or  old,  who  is  proceeding  clumsily  is  to 
withhold  advice  and  grant  the  full  opportunity 
of  experience  with  all  its  mistakes;  again,  there 
are  excellent  reasons  for  intervening.  Some- 
times we  depend  on  the  power  of  example  to 
enlighten  others;  again,  we  come  forward  with 
precepts  even  though  we  are  unable  fully  to  live 
by  them.  We  follow  different  plans  of  service 
on  different  occasions  in  responding  to  the  same 
persons,  according  to  the  guidance  that  applies 
to  the  case  at  hand.     All   these  apparent  in- 

^consistencies  spring  from  an  inner  prompting 

81 


THE  VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

to  come  as  near  the  ideal  as  we  can,  and  to  let 
our  conduct  correspond  with  the  need  of  those 
whom  we  serve.  If  one's  attitude  is  positive, 
there  will  be  a  tendency  steadily  to  advance  in 
the  mode  of  expressing  the  ideal.  Thus  higher 
and  higher  forms  of  resistance  will  disclose 
themselves.  At  last  we  will  be  able  in  many  an 
instance  to  give  love  for*  hate,  to  turn  away 
wrath  by  a  "soft  answer,"  to  prevent  a  quarrel 
by  declining  to  join,  to  conquer  impatience  and 
anger  by  "counting  ten,"  and  to  "overcome 
evil  with  good." 

On  the  ground  that  precaution  invites  attack 
some  have  approached  the  matter  by  leaving 
their  possessions  unguarded.  A  wise  man  who 
was  criticized  for  leaving  his  city  house  in  sum- 
mer-time as  if  occupied,  with  the  shades  up  and 
every  evidence  of  the  usual  activity,  replied  that 
this  is  the  way  to  avoid  trouble  from  marauders. 
Some  have  found  it  feasible  to  leave  windows 
and  doors  unlocked  the  year  round,  even  in  a 
country  place  where  a  thief  might  steal  in  un- 
observed. But  it  is  not  the  adoption  of  a  given 
external  custom  that  admits  us  to  the  principle. 
Given  an  honest  people  so  living  as  to  invite 
honesty  in  the  case  of  tourists  from  other  lands, 
the  unlocked  doors  and  windows  may  be  expres- 

82 


THE  HIGHER  RESISTANCE 

sions  of  the  national  attitude.  This  is  notice- 
able among  frank-hearted  peasants  like  the 
Norwegians.  He  would  be  mean  indeed  who 
should  take  advantage  of  such  a  people.  But 
one  cannot  imitate;  one  must  have  the  spirit 
from  which  such  results  spring.  To  avoid  pre- 
cautions among  other  peoples  might  be  to  invite 
wrong-doing. 

Because  freedom  and  openness  have  succeed- 
ed in  a  small  group  or  among  peasant  people, 
it  does  not  follow  that  one  could  apply  the  same 
method  on  a  large  scale  among  nations  not  yet 
imbued  with  the  Christian  spirit.  Sometimes 
the  theoretical  opponents  of  war  argue  for  non- 
resistance  on  the  ground  that  all  war  is  wrong, 
and  that  consequently  no  effort  should  be  made 
either  to  prepare  or  to  defend  the  nation.  All 
who  believe  in  preparedness  of  whatever  kind 
are  assailed  because,  in  general,  "war  is  wrong," 
or  on  the  supposition  that  the  nation  which 
prepares  for  war  will  surely  invite  it.  But 
there  is  no  thoroughgoing  effort  to  understand 
the  nations  psychologically  and  provide  a  moral 
equivalent  sure  to  succeed.  The  result  is  sheer 
non-resistance,  and  the  critics  are  right  when 
they  discount  this  as  impractical. 

As  matter  of  fact,  the  man  who  prepares  for 

83 


THE  VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

war  may  be  far  more  opposed  to  war  than  the 
pacifist.  The  crucial  matter  is,  adaptation  to 
the  world  as  it  is,  with  all  its  passions  and 
jealousies,  its  concealed  plans  and  ambitions. 
The  rational  idealist  takes  these  into  account, 
as  heartily  as  he  dislikes  them.  He  cannot  start 
with  such  an  idea  as  hatred  of  war  and  shape  all 
his  activities  by  that.  He  must  begin  by  con- 
sidering what  is  before  him  to  be  met.  If 
impulses  prevail  which  imply  that  "necessity 
knows  no  law,"  and  treaties  are  "mere  scraps 
of  paper,"  he  must  prepare,  however  strong  his 
dislike  of  the  entire  system  by  which  they  are 
intrenched.  The  true  idealist  therefore  begins 
by  preparing  to  conquer  his  own  spirit. 

The  Quaker  substantiates  his  doctrine  of  the 
higher  resistance  by  profound  belief  in  the  direct 
guidance  of  the  inward  light.  He  consequently 
has  a  positive  program  to  offer.  He  listens  for 
the  voice  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  not  to  rid  his  mind, 
as  if  passivity  were  the  world's  great  power;  he 
seeks  the  silences  of  Friends'  meeting  to  learn 
the  Spirit's  direct  way  to  the  highest  end. 
Externalities  are  awkward,  obscure,  and  com- 
plex; the  way  of  the  inner  life  is  as  direct  as 
wisdom  can  make  it  amid  the  conflicting 
forces  of  the  outward  world.     Hence  it  includes 

84 


THE  HIGHER  RESISTANCE 

higher  forms  of  power.  In  brief,  the  higher 
resistance  springs  from  God.  To  attain  it  in 
genuine  efficiency  we  need  to  make  a  complete 
transfer  of  allegiance  from  dependence  on  out- 
ward things  to  the  things  of  the  Spirit. 

Meanwhile,  as  disciples  of  the  higher  resist- 
ance, learning  to  use  it  more  and  more,  looking 
forward  to  a  time  when  a  whole  nation  shall 
employ  it,  we  may  well  bear  in  mind  that  our 
opponents  are  men  who  virtually  assume  that 
man,  not  God,  is  the  decisive  being  in  the  world. 
Hence  we  must  be  prepared  to  meet  ofBcious- 
ness,  cunning,  and  a  host  of  conservative  forces. 
To  have  true  faith  is  to  see  that  all  things 
change,  when  they  change  permanently,  from 
within  outward,  according  to  the  divine  order, 
and  by  means  of  more  powers  than  we  mortals 
ever  bring  entirely  under  control.  Hence  it  is 
ever  a  question  of  going  back  as  nearly  as  we 
can  to  the  sources.  To  employ  the  higher 
resistance  is  indeed  to  begin  with  causes,  to 
move  as  nearly  in  line  as  we  can  with  the  spirit- 
ual powers  acting  from  within  outward.  Were 
we  able  to  penetrate  far  enough  back,  we  might 
move  with  those  deeper  forces  beneath  the  sur- 
face which,  as  in  the  case  of  Russia,  are  assem- 
bling to  cast  off  the  old  order. 

7  85 


THE   VICTORIOUS  FxVITH 

The  question  whether  the  higher  resistance 
would  work  in  the  case  of  war  is  absurd  if  dis- 
cussed by  itself.  It  might  work  even  now  in  the 
case  of  quarrels  among  nations  with  moderation 
enough  to  consider  their  difficulties  for  a  year 
before  taking  action.  But  the  recent  instance, 
when  a  dispute  arose  between  Austria  and 
Serbia,  was  enormously  complicated  by  the 
near-by  presence  of  more  powerful  nations 
ready  to  intervene  at  a  moment's  notice,  as  soon 
as  an  excuse  for  war  might  offer.  We  had  not 
trained  ourselves  as  instruments  of  a  higher 
resistance  sufficient  to  overcome  Prussian  mili- 
tarism without  force  of  arms.  And  God  does 
not  intervene  to  prevent  a  war.  It  would  be 
unreasonable  to  expect  a  whole  nation  to  start 
out  and  make  application  of  a  principle  which 
had  not  yet  been  grasped  and  successfully 
applied  by  individuals.  However  we  look  at  the 
matter,  we  are  sent  home  to  ourselves,  to  begin 
where  we  are  to-day. 

Is  there  any  reason  for  being  less  affirmative, 
less  active  because  one  believes  in  the  higher 
resistance.'^  Should  we  not  rather  say  that  such 
resistance  is  in  line  with  the  decisive  powers  of 
the  world?  May  we  not  confidently  declare 
that   from   the   affirmative   spirit   springs   the 

86 


THE  HIGHER  RESISTANCE 

greatest  deeds  the  world  ever  witnesses?  If 
so,  each  of  us  will  naturally  concentrate  on  those 
powers  of  the  spirit  which  most  directly  help 
us  to  co-operate  with  the  right  and  the  true, 
those  that  make  it  possible  for  us  to  be  morally 
productive.  For  the  higher  resistance  is  very 
far  from  being  mere  receptivity.  It  is  co- 
operative activity  of  very  high  power.  It  is  not 
only  productive  in  the  realm  of  ideas,  as  a 
social  and  educational  power,  but  leads  to 
immediately  practical  adaptation  to  the  external 
order  of  the  world.  Indeed,  the  philosophy 
of  the  higher  resistance  may  be  said  to  be  the 
only  one  that  holds  out  a  hope  for  the  con- 
version of  the  whole  world. 


THE   MORAL   VALUES 

OUR  study  of  the  higher  resistance  has 
brought  the  discussion  to  the  point  where 
the  moral  attitude  appears  in  a  stronger  and  far 
more  promising  light.  Yet  bearing  in  mind  the 
central  difficulty  disclosed  by  the  psychological 
analysis  of  war,  we  need  to  look  still  further  for 
inhibitions  due  to  the  vast  complexity  of  mo- 
tives making  for  and  against  war.  Luckily  for 
our  nation,  many  of  the  moral  impediments 
were  removed  when  we  passed  out  of  a  state 
of  "benevolent  neutrality"  to  participate  with 
the  allies.  What  remains  is  that  deeper,  more 
intimate  study  of  neutrality  which  discloses  its 
relation  to  the  inner  life.  Our  attitude  of 
benevolent  abstention  and  liberalism  was  so  far- 
reaching  that  we  may  seriously  question  whether 
all  the  issues  have  come  to  the  fore. 

While  neutrality  may  be  adopted  by  nations 
for    prudential    reasons    or    because    no    other 

88 


THE  MORAL  VALUES 

course  is  possible  while  warring  nations  of  great 
power  are  close  at  hand,  neutrality  in  the  indi- 
vidual is  a  moral  question  demanding  the  earli- 
est possible  solution.  One  cannot,  indeed,  be 
indifferent  for  a  moment  concerning  matters  of 
right  and  wrong,  even  while  the  government  is 
deciding  what  course  is  wisest  for  the  nation  as 
a  whole.  In  thought  at  least  there  can  be  moral 
protest  from  the  start,  with  the  first  invasion  of 
a  country  not  at  war,  with  every  atrocity  com- 
mitted, each  time  a  merchant  ship  or  fishing 
vessel  is  torpedoed,  and  thus  on  through  a  long 
list  of  acts  morally  wrong,  whatever  the  cus- 
tom among  nations.  For  the  individual's  atti- 
tude does  not  remain  moral  if  even  thought  is 
checked,  to  say  nothing  of  the  impeding  of 
moral  emotions.  Even  if  for  the  moment  we 
say,  "My  country,  right  or  wrong,"  we  must 
qualify  if  we  shall  do  our  part  to  keep  the  na- 
tion pure  whenever  alien  motives  intervene. 
It  is  the  very  nature  of  the  moral  attitude  to 
divide  the  universe  by  the  sharpest  possible 
lines  of  distinction.  To  be  moral  is  to  take  sides 
sooner  or  later  in  thought,  in  attitude,  in  will, 
in  deed;  and  to  stand  valiantly  by  the  side  de- 
termined on  as  right.  By  contrast,  neutrality 
proves  to  be  as  weak  as  the  pale  liberalism  with 

89 


THE  VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

which  we  were  so  widely  inflicted  before  the 
war,  or  the  supine  optimism  which  ignored  the 
evils  of  the  world. 

There  are  indeed  various  preliminary  matters 
to  be  considered.  Experience  teaches  us,  for 
example,  how  difficult  it  is  to  discern  another's 
true  motive.  One  may  withhold  dissent  while 
seeking  evidence.  Life  leads  us  to  be  far  more 
cautious  in  our  judgment  as  time  goes  on. 
To  be  a  truth-lover  is  to  be  open-minded,  sub- 
ject to  changes  of  view.  We  are  all  called  on  at 
times  to  be  as  impartial  as  the  judge  who  cannot 
be  influenced  from  the  path  of  duty  and  the 
right.  There  are  times  for  disinterestedness,  if 
we  shall  maintain  high  standards  of  friendship 
and  service.  We  reserve  the  right  to  be  im- 
personal when  we  can  attain  the  greater  good 
thereby.  We  try  to  be  more  fair  and  dispas- 
sionate, and  this  effort  is  a  long  process  with 
some  of  us.  There  is  a  sense,  too,  in  which 
with  the  Stoics  we  may  be  citizens  of  the  world 
while  still  truly  patriotic. 

Yet  all  these  are  positive  considerations,  and 
should  not  be  confused  with  neutrality.  We 
withhold  judgment  for  a  time  only.  We  adopt 
an  impartial  attitude  that  we  may  presently 
arrive  at  a  decision.     We  are  disinterested  be- 

90 


THE  MORAL  VALUES 

cause  we  love  our  fellow-men  above  self.  To  be 
dispassionate  is  to  adopt  a  higher  standard. 
Our  attitude  is  significant  because  of  what  we 
have  overcome,  through  the  purpose  in  view. 
To  become  increasingly  moral  is  to  grow  in 
passion  for  the  great  ends.  What  we  discount 
is  the  passion  that  befogs  the  vision  and  is 
selfish.  We  try  to  lose  self  in  order  to  find  it, 
not  to  limp  along  without  it  as  if  to  be  unselfish 
were  to  become  neutral.  All  moral  progress  is 
from  the  indeterminate  or  neutral  to  the  de- 
terminate or  positive. 

It  is  an  old  saying  that  "he  who  hesitates 
is  lost. "  The  same  is  true  of  the  temporizer. 
Eventually  one  who  compromises  is  worse  than 
"lost,"  for  one  may  acquire  a  habit  of  vacilla- 
tion that  will  weaken  the  whole  of  life.  The 
New  England  conscience  in  one  of  its  forms  is  a 
sad  result  of  this  neutrality.  As  matters  go  in 
this  world,  we  cannot  wait  forever  for  evidences, 
for  pros  and  cons.  Objections  might  be  raised 
without  limit,  and  there  would  always  be 
ground  for  suspending  judgment.  Thus  the 
liberalism  and  tolerance  overpraised  in  our  land 
would,  if  carried  to  the  limit,  unbalance  us  all. 
To  adopt  a  course  may  be  to  change  after  a 

time.     But  if  we  have  launched  ourselves  with 

91 


THE   VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

firm  initiative  we  have  been  gaining  all  tlie  way. 
Now  at  last  we  have  a  vigorous  antithesis  by 
which  to  compare  our  actions  with  those  of 
others.  The  will  is  made  moral  by  mak- 
ing the  venture.  Sometimes  the  moral  indi- 
vidual must  plunge  in  "though  all  the  way 
be  dark." 

"We  also  recognize  that  each  must  be  some- 
body in  particular,  must  stand  for  definite 
interests  and  activities.  Thus  loyalty  to  a 
party,  a  "cause,"  the  state  and  nation,  a  club, 
union,  or  church,  means  the  neglect  of  some 
possibilities  that  we  may  make  sure  headway 
with  a  few  others  accepted  for  all  we  can  put 
into  them.  All  practical  demands  lead  to  such 
concentration.  To  succeed,  to  acquire  charac- 
ter, we  take  sides  "for  better  or  worse." 
Through  "thick  and  thin"  we  agree  to  stand  by 
our  partners.  It  would  be  futile  to  be  a  mere 
investigator,  always  trying  to  make  up  one's 
mind.  The  man  who  stands  positively  for  a 
point  of  view,  even  though  it  later  prove  errone- 
ous, has  a  contribution  to  make  to  his  time. 
Thus  although  Nietzsche  failed  to  understand 
Christianity  and  was  so  far  wrong  in  many  ways 
that  he  lost  his  reason,  nevertheless  he  taught 
the  world  a  lesson  by  his  critique  of  the  milder 

92 


THE  MORAL  VALUES 

virtues  and  his  praise  of  the  will-to-power. 
Thus  Hobbes  with  his  false  notions  of  human 
nature  taught  the  England  of  his  day  a  lesson 
because  eloquently  positive  in  describing  the 
state  of  primitive  man.  Any  one  who  "ar- 
rives," who  does  things  "up  brown"  is  so  far 
an  instructive  success.  It  sometimes  matters 
less  what  we  do  than  how  we  do  it. 

The  principle  becomes  still  more  clear  when 
we  examine  a  given  element  of  our  nature,  the 
intellect,  which  stands  for  impartiality.  The 
will  takes  sides.  So  do  all  the  emotions,  in 
fact  every  prompting  from  passion  to  religious 
zeal  and  the  moral  sentiment.  The  intellect 
intervenes  and  says,  *'Wait."  Hence  we  inves- 
tigate, observe,  gather  facts,  note  connections, 
draw  cautious  inferences.  Many  occupations 
call  for  elaborate  and  thorough  development 
of  this  side  of  our  nature.  Yet  even  in  scientific 
fields  the  mere  pursuit  of  facts  and  laws  would 
become  intolerable.  To  become  proficient  one 
must  limit  the  field  of  interest  more  and  more, 
even  with  the  possibility  of  becoming  narrow. 
To  win  the  highest  honors  one  must  select  a 
sharply  defined  point  of  view  and  maintain  it 
by  sheer  persuasiveness  against  all  criticism. 
Almost  arbitrarily  at  times  one  must  rule  out 

93 


THE   VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

evidence.     Thus  it  is  loyalty  to  a  purpose  that 
secures  intellectual  success. 

We  witness  the  worst  effects  of  intellectual 
neutrality  in  the  case  of  people  who  may  be 
classified  as  mere  liberals,  people  who  are  just 
intellectual  enough  without  being  able  to  con- 
tribute to  the  thought  of  the  time.  They  have 
heard  so  much  about  open-mindedness  that 
they  have  made  this  an  end  in  itself.  Impressed 
by  the  narrowing  effect  of  creeds  and  dogmas, 
they  have  thrown  off  all  allegiance  to  the 
church,  and  have  set  out  in  quest  of  the  spirit  in 
contrast  with  all  forms,  creeds,  and  rituals. 
Reacting  against  the  particular,  they  profess 
themselves  lovers  of  "the  universal,"  unmindful 
of  the  truth  that  the  universal  must  be  full  of 
content,  grounded  in  the  particular,  in  order 
to  be  either  practical  or  rational.  With  Whit- 
man, "afoot  and  light-hearted,"  they  take  to 
"the  open  road"  without  having  any  place  to 
go.  With  Emerson,  they  keep  "aloof  from  all 
moorings  and  afloat"  without  the  saving  "love 
of  truth"  which  in  the  great  sage  of  Concord  was 
so  strong.  They  are,  in  fine,  like  those  impossi- 
ble mothers  of  whom  the  Hindus  tell  us,  who 
are  supposed  to  love  all  children  equally  well. 
Just  as  our  goodness  "  must  have  some  edge  to 

94 


THE  MORAL  VALUES 

it,  else  it  is  none,"  so  we  must  espouse  a  doctrine 
or  party  to  see  the  truth  in  any  other  doctrine 
or  party.  To  be  neutral  is  to  be  negligible, 
nondescript,  lukewarm,  always  going  some- 
where (with  Bergson)  but  never  knowing  where 
one  is  going.  Moreover,  a  peculiar  kind  of  self- 
deception  is  involved.  One  seems  to  be  virtu- 
ous because  unattached.  But  in  deepest  truth 
"no  man  can  serve  two  masters,"  to  say  nothing 
of  trying  to  serve  a  hundred.  We  always  hate 
the  one  or  the  other,  whatever  our  pretensions. 
While  claiming  to  be  in  pursuit  of  the  true  and 
the  good  wherever  found,  we  may  in  reality  be 
guilty  of  the  most  barefaced  partisanship. 
Your  supposably  impersonal  lover  of  universal 
truth  turns  out  to  be  the  most  ardent  devotee  of 
persons.  The  one  who  claims  to  love  all  man- 
kind as  brothers  may  prove  to  be  intensely  loyal 
to  a  certain  class,  and  full  of  bitterness  for  the 
reigning  class.  Thus  an  ostensible  program  for 
the  enfranchisement  of  all  mankind  proves  to 
be  a  league  for  securing  privileges  for  one  class  at 
the  expense  of  all  others. 

When  unmasked  we  are  all  partisan  and 
personal.  This  is  not  a  lamentable  fact,  but  a 
truth  of  our  deeper  nature,  seriously  misunder- 
stood by  those  who  put  the  emphasis  on  the 

95 


THE  VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

intellect  which  belongs  on  the  heart.  Note,  for 
example,  that  with  the  breaking  out  of  war  a 
German  was  first  a  German  the  wide  world  over, 
even  though  he  had  given  allegiance  to  socialism 
or  espoused  some  other  cause  for  the  benefit 
of  the  race,  even  though  he  was  a  man  of  learn- 
ing supposably  dedicated  to  universal  truth  and 
the  cause  of  education.  The  case  is  more  pro- 
nounced, perhaps,  because  of  the  Teutonic 
theory  of  the  state  as  an  entity  above  all  indi- 
viduals, because  the  virtue  of  obedience  is 
overdone,  and  because  the  military  class  has 
been  dominant.  But  in  other  connections  every 
nation  or  people  exhibits  its  equivalent  loyal- 
ties, notably  the  Jewish  race.  "Blood  is  thicker 
than  water. "  Love  of  one's  own  stricken  na- 
tion gains  the  ascendency  over  every  other 
affection.  Love  for  humanity  is  allowed  to 
wane.  For  the  time  being  there  is  little  love  of 
truth  in  the  universal  sense:  that  is  now  true 
which  seems  to  guarantee  success  and  helps 
to  maintain  the  national  spirit.  Even  God  is 
neglected  unless  He  can  be  persuaded  to  be  on 
the  nation's  side.  The  more  persistently  the 
nation  is  attacked  the  more  one's  loyalties 
increase.  Thus  on  provocation  love  changes 
into  the  most  intense  partisanship. 

96 


THE  MORAL  VALUES 

How  far  may  we  rightly  follow  this  strong 
attachment  for  country,  home,  family,  and  all 
that  pertains  to  local  interests?  The  matter 
becomes  a  serious  one  when  we  realize  that  in 
our  day  many  are  inclined  to  go  to  violent 
extremes,  for  or  against  patriotism. 

There  are  those  who  profess  to  dispense  with 
patriotism  altogether,  who  assure  us  that  all 
national  sentiments  must  cease,  and  that  love 
for  our  human  brothers  in  general  shall  abso- 
lutely prevail  over  racial  or  other  partisan 
interests.  That  is,  all  should  become  "citizens 
of  the  world,"  striving  for  world-peace,  or  for 
socialism  in  place  of  nationalism.  The  result 
would  be  the  disbanding  of  all  political  parties, 
the  giving  up  of  all  local  allegiances,  all  special 
affections  pertaining  to  a  given  race,  such  as  the 
Anglo-Saxon.  In  the  intellectual  world  mere 
love  of  truth  would  be  the  rule.  In  the  realm  of 
ethics  it  would  mean  justice  at  large  in  contrast 
with  any  particular  claim.  In  the  sphere  of 
personal  affection  it  would  mean  equal  love  for 
all,  and  every  child  would  be  devotedly  attached 
to  all  parents.  Thus  on  through  a  long  list 
of  changes. 

At  first  thought  there  seem  to  be  strong 
scriptural  reasons  for  such  a  radical  change. 

97 


THE  VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

We  read  that  God  is  "no  respecter  of  persons." 
We  find  Jesus  referring  to  his  mother  and 
brothers  as  if  they  were  no  more  to  Him  than 
any  mother  or  any  brother.  The  gospels  teach 
affection  and  service  for  alL  In  war-time  the 
true  Christian  nurse  or  physician  would  appar- 
ently succor  all  wounded  alike.  The  spirit  of 
the  gospel  goes  out  impartially  for  all  who  suffer 
and  are  afflicted. 

If,  however,  only  the  most  general  phase  of 
love  be  divine,  we  must  roundly  condemn  nearly 
every  human  affection  the  heart  holds  dear. 
In  contrast  with  this  generality,  we  find  a  wealth 
of  considerations  in  common  life  which  lead  the 
other  way.  The  lover  turns  to  one  woman 
beyond  all  others  in  the  wide  universe  and  makes 
her  his  wife.  The  wife  cleaves  to  one  husband 
and  realizes  the  fullness  of  her  nature  by  so 
doing.  The  special  love  which  the  children 
call  forth  leads  the  way  for  a  devotion  covering 
the  whole  of  life.  It  is  inconceivable  that  chil- 
dren should  flourish  as  well  if  brought  up  as  so 
many  human  units  the  more.  Private  and 
personal  interests  at  their  best  grow  up  out  of 
the  family  and  the  home.  The  father's  voca- 
tion centers  about  the  home.     Society  at  its  best 

grows  up  around  it.     Each  member  of  the  fam- 

98 


THE  MORAL  VALUES 

ily  eventually  chooses  a  special  vocation  or 
interest.  The  ideal  is  to  be  an  individual, 
standing  for  all  that  is  best  in  the  personal  life. 

As  readily  as  these  private  interests  run  over 
into  selfishness,  the  road  to  the  true  universal 
lies  through,  not  around  them.  It  is  the  more 
intimate  bond  of  attachment  which  in  time 
brings  nearer  the  others  whom  the  loved  one 
typifies.  The  true  mother  still  continues  to  love 
her  offspring  with  special  affection  while  loving 
all  children  as  she  never  could  were  she  not 
faithful  to  her  own.  The  advance  is  from  the 
special  to  the  universal,  not  by  ignoring  the 
personal.  By  giving  all  to  one  we  gain  all  man- 
kind. By  growing  in  this  manner  closer  to  the 
race  we  increase  in  affection  for  the  one.  Not 
only  do  our  hearts  tell  us  that  this  is  right,  but 
the  understanding  strengthens  our  loyalty  to 
the  one  loved  above  all  others,  to  the  purpose 
which  transfigures  life.  In  another  chapter  we 
shall  see  that  the  Christian  gospel,  rightly  under- 
stood, is  in  favor  of  such  loyalty. 

Plainly,  we  must  declare  that  deep  attach- 
ment to  one's  own  is  as  trulv  divine  as  the 
universalizing  tendency  so  often  praised.  Ap- 
parently human  life  could  not  have  been  con- 
stituted on  any  other  basis.     It  is  right  to  care 

99 


THE  VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

first  for  one's  family  and  home,  hence  for  one's 
state  and  nation.  It  is  right  to  prefer  a  certain 
vocation,  a  certain  section  of  the  country,  our 
own  language  and  our  national  customs,  our 
own  beloved  flag.  Patriotism,  indeed,  stands 
next  to  love  of  our  heavenly  kingdom.  We  love 
our  country  that  we  may  help  to  make  it  a 
kingdom  of  heaven  on  earth. 

What  then  shall  we  say  of  the  objectionable 
element  in  human  affections  and  loyalties? 
What  is  undesirable  is  the  intolerant,  over- 
bearing tendency  which  imposes  on  neighboring 
peoples  and  seeks  to  manage  them.  What  is 
desirable  is  not  effacement  of  local  interests,  but 
their  enlargement  into  world-contributions,  with 
true  willingness  to  live  and  let  live.  Thus  at 
the  same  time  one  may  be  a  good  citizen  of  one's 
own  town  and  state,  a  good  patriot  and  public 
servant,  while  also  a  lover  of  mankind.  Thus 
there  may  be  gradual  progress  toward  the  uni- 
versal without  giving  up  the  near-by  ends  which 
enable  us  to  be  practical  and  definite.  There 
is  nothing  inconsistent  in  working  for  both 
citizenship  and  brotherhood  at  the  sa.me  time. 

There  is,  to  be  sure,  narrowness  of  patriotism 
to  be  overcome,  also  localisms  without  limit,  and 
different  sorts  of  exclusiveness.     Some  of  us 

100 


THE  MORAL  VALUES 

need  to  be  taken  out  of  our  narrow  party  spirit. 
It  is  much  easier  to  be  partisan  than  to  be  loyal 
to  the  right.  The  ideal  is  to  use  parties  as 
means  to  public  welfare.  We  need  parties  to 
counteract  one  another  and  bring  the  whole 
truth  into  light.  The  truth  is  too  rich  to  be 
confined  to  a  single  system.  We  need  local 
groups  to  bring  out  the  richness  of  human  so- 
ciety, and  with  them  we  need  differences  of 
custom  and  method,  various  languages,  national 
types,  racial  interests.  Undoubtedly  we  need 
churches  of  different  types,  with  contrasted 
modes  of  worship.  There  is  every  reason  for 
the  maintenance  of  national  modes  of  expression. 
Meanwhile,  it  would  seem  permissible  to 
believe  that  our  language  is  the  best,  our 
country  the  noblest,  our  Church  the  true  one. 
So  indeed  it  is  for  us,  born  and  reared  as  we 
were,  with  oui  local  interests.  We  may  right- 
fully try  to  make  the  special  in  every  way  the 
best  by  loving  it  most  and  exalting  it  into  the 
realms  of  the  ideal.  We  can  hardly  fulfil  the 
divine  purpose  save  by  this  zeal.  We  must 
believe  heartily  in  order  to  put  forth  our  best 
effort.  Others  looking  on  are  most  likely  to  be 
helped  to  realize  their  individual  ideals  if  we 
valiantly  strive  to  carry  out  our  own. 

8  101 


THE  VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

Some  of  us  may  also  attain  the  universal 
vision.  We  may  see  that  there  is  universaHty 
in  reh'gion,  a  right  and  justice  over  and  above 
given  decisions,  a  philosophic  truth  in  which 
the  truth  of  religion  and  science  is  fulfilled. 
But  the  universal  is  not  abstract,  general,  or 
vague;  it  is  always  realizable  through  specific 
needs  and  concrete  instances.  The  road  to  it 
is  through  the  present  activity.  We  cannot 
drop  what  we  are  doing  and  find  the  uni- 
versal "as  such."  We  can  love  what  we  are 
doing  and  gradually  lift  it  into  the  light  of  the 
universal. 

Strictly  speaking,  many  of  our  external 
methods  may  be  equally  good.  Black  is  the 
mourning  color  among  us,  white  is  the  color  in 
China,  and  one  serves  as  well  as  the  other. 
Conventionally  we  think  of  hell  as  hot,  while  the 
Eskimo  compares  it  to  a  great  iceberg  which 
never  breaks  up.  A  great  many  matters  that 
seem  vital  to  us  are  purely  secondary.  But 
these  matters  serve  as  means  to  ends  and  may 
be  regarded  as  vital  for  the  time  being.  Then, 
too,  there  are  differences  that  really  are  essen- 
tial, those  that  pertain  to  the  eternal  values,  to 
the  divine  purpose.  It  is  always  incumbent 
on  us  to  express  our  love  through  the  concrete 

102 


THE  MORAL  VALUES 

and  personal,  through  the  pursuit  of  definite 
ends. 

"All  roads  lead  to  Rome,"  we  say.  It  may 
not  matter  so  much  as  we  think  that  we  find 
ourselves  on  a  given  road,  speaking  English 
instead  of  Hebrew,  Anglo-Saxons  in  temper 
instead  of  Hebraic;  or  that  we  are  Jews  and  not 
Anglo-Saxons.  The  point  is,  to  pursue  the 
road  to  the  end  and  see  all  there  is  to  be  seen,  to 
think,  work  with  a  will,  love  with  the  whole 
heart.  We  may  find  the  roads  converging 
after  a  time.  We  may  acquire  a  true  spirit  of 
working  together  for  common  social  ends  higher 
than  those  of  race  or  nation.  But  whatever 
the  remote  end,  the  road  just  now  lies  before 
us  in  a  certain  land,  with  certain  obligations 
before  us. 

Why  not  then  accept  our  human  loves  and 
loyalties  and  work  through,  not  away  from 
them?  They  are  sound  and  good  for  the  most 
part.  What  is  needed  is  intensive  development. 
It  is  only  the  unproductive  narrowness  of  pro- 
vincialism, with  the  selfishness,  that  need  be 
overcome.  Whatever  changes  shall  come  about 
in  human  society  must  come  through  gradual 
transformation  of  the  social  order  that  now 
exists.     Probably  the  elements  of  the  present 

103 


THE  VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

social  order  will  be  retained,  for  they  will  be 
needed  by  oncoming  generations.  What  is 
imperative  is  not  revolution,  but  higher  use  and 
co-operation. 

Looking  at  the  matter  from  within,  we  realize 
that  all  our  affections  have  two  tendencies. 
In  our  emotions  and  impulses  we  may  turn  into 
self  for  the  benefit  of  self,  or  we  may  rise  above 
our  finitude  for  the  benefit  of  others.  There  is 
nothing  inherently  wrong  in  the  emotion  or 
affection,  the  impulse  or  instinct.  Everything 
turns  upon  the  application.  The  problem  of 
conduct  is  concerned  with  the  appropriate  use 
of  our  promptings.  Love  is  the  life  of  each 
one  of  us,  and  this  love  is  capable  of  being  trans- 
figured through  divine  use.  No  one  can  escape 
loving  in  one  way  or  another,  up  or  down,  in  or 
out.  We  are  all  human,  we  are  all  personal, 
and  we  are  not  neutral.  We  have  our  special 
interests,  our  loyalties,  and  desires.  There  is 
no  reason  to  condemn  human  nature.  It  is  not 
probable  that  human  nature  will  ever  be  greatly 
changed  in  these  respects.  New-comers  will 
need  similar  opportunities  to  try  their  spirits. 
The  road  to  heaven  lies  through  such  trials 
and  experiments.  What  we  should  work  for 
is   not  the  abolition   of  these  human  things, 

104 


THE  MORAL  VALUES 

but  for  the  wisdom  to  put  them  to  the  best 
use. 

The  way  to  the  universal  which  our  love  takes 
leads  into  the  way  God  is  going,  if,  indeed,  it  be 
not  the  way  wherein  He  moves  from  the  first. 
The  divine  love  does  not  operate  out  of  connec- 
tion with  human  states,  conditions,  and  things; 
but  works  through  the  human,  and  all  things 
human,  too,  to  attain  its  high  end.  The  divine 
love  is  definite,  concrete,  incarnate,  adapted  to 
our  needs  where  we  are,  whoever  we  are.  To 
condemn  these  human  ways  which  love  takes 
would  therefore  be  to  condemn  God,  whom  we 
call  "love."  The  divine  love  is  at  once  uni- 
versal and  special.  It  cares  for  all  and  yet 
for  each.  It  gives  us  our  promptings  to  care 
for  those  nearest  and  dearest.  It  also  gives  us 
our  promptings  to  seek  the  good  of  the  race. 
The  two  are  inseparable.  It  follows  that  the 
divine  love  is  not  neutral  in  its  effect  upon  us. 
The  more  fully  we  enter  into  it,  the  more  possi- 
bilities we  reject  as  incompatible. 

Our  human  affections  thus  take  on  a  different 
aspect  when  we  regard  them  from  the  Godward 
side.  "Greater  love  hath  no  man  than  this, 
that  he  should  lay  down  his  life  for  his  friends. " 
His  friends  are  those  whom  he  can  help  most, 

105 


THE  VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

those  with  whom  he  is  led  to  live  and  work. 
He  is  not  drawn  equally  to  all  save  so  far  as  he 
is  faithful  to  those  to  whom  he  is  directly  drawn 
because  of  need  or  affinity. 

The  more  we  dwell  upon  this,  the  divine  value 
of  human  love,  the  less  we  need  think  about 
the  petty  ways  of  man  in  his  selfishness.  The 
result  is  greater  eagerness  to  show  what  true 
love  is  by  example,  greater  desire  to  do  our 
part.  Absorbed  in  doing  this,  we  will  not 
object  to  the  loyalties  of  varied  sorts  shown  by 
our  neighbors.  Just  because  they  are  not 
neutral  we  shall  expect  them  to  hold  different 
views,  to  follow  different  roads,  each  seeking 
to  realize  his  type.  If  each  realizes  the  indi- 
vidual end  for  which  he  exists  all  will  be  served, 
and  we  will  be  "members  one  of  another"  in 
actual  practice,  not  in  ideal  only.  Love  is 
limited  because  we  need  to  realize  our  part  in  a 
social  whole  in  which  each  shall  be  contributory. 

Thus,  for  example,  we  can  agree  heartily  with 
the  protest  of  that  patriotic  Belgian  woman  who 
exclaimed  at  the  peace  conference  held  during 
the  first  year  of  the  war:  "We  do  not  want 
peace,  we  want  justice.'*  This  protest  implies 
that  justice  is  not  only  superior  to  peace,  but 
that  to  realize  the  moral  ideal  and  co-operate 

106 


THE  MORAL  VALUES 

with  one  another  we  must  have  a  scale  of  values. 
The  advocate  of  peace  has  often  made  the  mis- 
take of  regarding  peace  as  if  it  were  an  end  in 
itself,  just  as  the  socialist  strives  for  his  particu- 
lar goal  apart  from  other  moral  considerations. 
In  a  sense  we  have  seemed  to  stand  as  a  nation 
for  this  isolation  of  peace.  We  have  accorded 
greater  freedom  with  less  armed  protection 
than  any  other  land.  In  the  face  of  menacing 
militarism  we  have  had  the  courage  to  believe 
in  treaties  rather  than  battle-ships,  and  to 
remain  content  with  a  small  army  and  navy. 
We  seem  to  have  believed  that  our  recognized 
position  in  the  world  as  the  foremost  demo- 
cratic nation  was  sufficient  security  against  any 
contingency.  Despite  the  fact  that  we  have 
welcomed  representatives  of  all  nations,  and 
entertained  spies  as  guests,  we  have  antici- 
pated no  civil  uprising,  no  serious  international 
intrigues.  Under  these  circumstances  it  was 
natural  that  we  should  take  the  lead  in  the 
movement  for  universal  disarmament  and  arbi- 
tration. All  this  has  indicated  that  for  us  peace 
was  the  basis  of  every  other  social  good. 

Meanwhile,  one  need  not  look  very  far  afield 
in  studying  the  tendencies  of  the  age  to  discover 
evidences  of  a  profound  reaction  against  this 

107 


THE   VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

assumption.  Underneath  socialism,  Fabian,  po- 
litical, and  radical;  underneath  a  dozen  other 
movements  for  reform,  in  and  out  of  the  social 
centers,  the  churches,  and  the  liberal  colleges, 
there  has  been  a  cumulative  movement  which 
can  be  summarized  in  one  word  as  a  demand  for 
justice.  Whatever  the  program  adopted,  how- 
ever greatly  the  leaders  might  differ  in  methods 
proposed,  all  have  somehow  come  to  agree  that 
a  radical  social  reconstruction  must  take  place, 
one  which  will  secure  justice  for  every  class, 
which  will  put  justice  above  money  and  above 
politics,  which  will  secure  the  equality  before 
the  law  and  the  freedom  of  opportunity  which 
belong  with  our  democratic  government.  Here 
was  a  force  to  be  reckoned  with,  so  we  had  all 
come  to  believe. 

No  argument  is  required  to  establish  the 
superiority  of  justice  over  peace.  What  the 
recent  movements  in  favor  of  justice  show  above 
all  else  is  that  despite  our  tacit  conviction  that 
justice  is  superior  in  value  we  have  supinely 
allowed  injustice  to  be  done  while  we  genially 
welcomed  the  prophets  of  peace.  Our  fore- 
fathers came  here  to  secure  and  maintain  jus- 
tice, and  they  founded  our  government  on  the 
right   basis   for   justice.     But   we   of    a   later 

108 


THE  MORAL  VALUES 

generation  have  become  easy-going  and  tolerant 
in  the  extreme,  serenely  opening  our  doors  to 
any  one  from  anarchist  and  bomb-plotter  to  the 
intellectual  propagandist  masquerading  under 
the  guise  of  a  college  professor.  We  have  not 
wanted  to  give  offense.  It  was  hard  indeed  for 
us  to  adopt  any  restrictions  with  regard  to 
Asiatics  who  imperiled  American  labor.  Thus 
our  problems  have  increased  without  number 
while  we  postponed  the  day  of  reckoning. 

What  does  require  examination  in  argumenta- 
tive terms  is  the  notion  that  peace  is  the  greater 
good,  and  we  may  well  challenge  the  radical 
pacifist  to  defend  his  tacit  assumption.  It  will 
be  necessary  for  the  pacifist  to  show  if  he  can 
that  peace  is  absolute,  or  at  any  rate  a  prior 
condition  essential  to  justice  and  the  other 
virtues  which  rank  above  peace.  He  may  be 
challenged  to  establish  by  argument  based  on 
history,  or  on  a  study  of  human  nature  and  the 
moral  law,  his  implied  conviction  that  peace  is 
in  any  sense  an  end  to  be  secured  by  direct 
effort.  The  rest  of  us  may  meanwhile  re- 
examine with  profit  some  of  the  most  wide- 
spread and  apparently  the  most  secure  of  our 
tacit  assumptions  concerning  the  regulative 
principles  of  life. 

109 


THE   VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

For  example,  it  is  customary  for  pacifists  and 
all  the  rest  of  us  alike  to  proceed  on  the  assump- 
tion that  we  possess  a  creed  or  principle  ap- 
plicable to  all  occasions  and  conditions  with- 
out exception.  We  uncritically  hold,  for  in- 
stance, that  truth-telling  is  imperative  for  all 
occasions.  The  Scriptures  apparently  teach  this 
as  an  unqualified  virtue.  The  moral  codes  of 
the  world  are  founded  on  it.  Human  society 
appears  to  be  impossible  without  it.  Yet  our 
conduct  frequently  testifies  to  the  contrary, 
and  ethical  philosophers  long  ago  raised  the 
most  serious  doubts.  If,  for  example,  I  reveal 
the  truth  to  would-be  murderers  intent  on 
slaying  a  person  whose  whereabouts  I  know,  I 
make  myself  in  some  degree  a  partner  to  the 
crime.  In  such  a  case,  as  in  many  others  that 
might  arise — when  a  sick  person  hangs  between 
life  and  death,  when  insanity  threatens,  when 
an  innocent  girl  is  blasphemed,  when  there  are 
plots  to  betray  my  country,  in  any  and  all 
circumstances  the  moral  principle  is:  in  the 
presence  of  many  or  conflicting  goods,  always  to 
choose  the  greater  or  higher. 

We  think  nothing  of  the  change  from  civil 

to  martial   law   when  a  great  earthquake  or 

a    hurricane    destroys   a   city.     Neighborhood 

no 


THE  MORAL  VALUES 

emergencies  as  quickly  lead  to  a  reversal  of  all 
the  usual  conditions.  So  does  a  shipwreck. 
The  chief  difficulty  over  the  much  discussed 
question  of  non-resistance  is  due  to  the  unjusti- 
fied assumption  that  the  precept  "Resist  not 
evil"  is  absolute.  In  practical  life  we  have 
always  made  exceptions.  We  have  always 
protected  ourselves  just  as  we  guard  against 
the  insane  and  the  violent,  or  make  regulations 
for  self-defense.  As  matter  of  fact,  non-resist- 
ance or  its  opposite  is  entirely  secondary  to  the 
motive  and  the  occasion.  There  is  no  solution 
of  the  problem  in  external  terms. 

If  we  inquire  into  any  of  the  virtues  we  find 
grounds  for  exceptions.  Self-sacrifice  is  as 
likely  to  be  practised  as  any  incentive  to  vir- 
tuous conduct.  Yet  if  taken  as  an  unqualified 
rule  it  may  lead  to  self-centeredness  and  sel- 
fishness. It  may  safely  be  taken  as  a  clue  to 
moral  conduct  only  so  far  as  we  have  the  greater 
good  in  view.  Its  place  in  human  society  has 
been  a  problem  all  through  the  ages.  And  the 
same  is  true  of  all  other  recognized  sanctions. 
Even  if  we  admit  the  whole  point  and  acknowl- 
edge that  there  is  no  moral  rule  that  suflSces  for 
all  occasions,  agreeing  at  last  with  the  Greeks 

that  the  great   consideration  is,   "nothing  to 

111 


THE  VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

excess,"  we  must  qualify.  We  realize  that  to 
become  so  moderate  and  self-controlled  as  to 
weigh  every  possible  incentive  to  action  before 
indulging  in  a  moral  deed  would  be  to  sacrifice 
that  spontaneity  in  which  the  life  of  virtue 
consists. 

The  plain  conclusion  is  that  every  moral 
precept  whatsoever  holds  under  conditions.  It 
is  as  necessary  to  understand  the  conditions  as 
to  know  the  precept.  When  the  conditions 
change,  the  rule  is:  Seek  the  appropriate  precept 
for  the  occasion,  just  as  we  substitute  martial 
for  civil  law,  then  change  back  when  normal 
conditions  obtain.  The  test  is  in  behalf  of  the 
greater  or  higher  good.  It  is  a  greater  good  to 
perform  a  deed  to  protect  or  save  one's  country 
than  to  tell  the  truth  on  a  point  vitally  signif- 
icant to  an  enemy.  It  is  a  higher  good  to  save 
a  person's  life  than  to  give  the  information  de- 
sired by  a  murderer. 

In  certain  instances  it  is  a  higher  evidence 
of  virtue  to  seek  the  inner  guidance  than  to  obey 
an  external  mandate.  The  guidance  is  different 
from  a  rule  or  creed,  it  is  from  the  spirit,  and 
may  come  in  the  form  of  a  very  direct  command. 
It  implies  the  effort  on  the  soul's  part  to  "seek 
first  the  kingdom  of  God,"  the  source  of  all 

112 


THE  MORAL  VALUES 

goodness,  virtue,  so  that  "all  these  things" 
may  be  added.  Hence  we  sometimes  justify 
a  man  in  standing  by  his  conscience  in  contrast 
with  any  social  sanction  then  prevailing.  We 
look  for  moral  leaders  to  break  through  prece- 
dent and  make  plain  the  way  to  superior  virtue. 

But  should  we  not  always  love  one  another? 
Is  not  this  precept  at  least  absolute,  even  if  we 
must  yield  the  point  on  all  others?  The  com- 
mand that  we  should  love  one  another  certainly 
comes  with  the  highest  possible  sanction.  But 
it  comes  also  amid  other  commands  and  in 
connection  with  that  modifying  wisdom  whose 
source  we  trace  as  directly  to  God  as  love  itself. 
I  am  to  love  a  man  in  certain  respects.  I  can- 
not love  the  evil  in  him.  My  love  for  him  is  not 
eligible  save  in  union  with  wisdom,  and  my  clue 
is  found  in  the  ideal  union  of  love  and  wisdom 
in  the  heart  and  mind  of  God. 

Our  conduct  is  often  far  wiser  than  we  realize. 

In  our  common-sense  modes  of  life,  unchecked 

by  too  much  theorizing,  we  qualify  and  adapt 

without  limit.     We  know,   for   example,   that 

there  is  a  time  for  work  and  a  time  for  play,  a 

time  for  society  and  a  time  to  be  alone,  a  time 

to  conform  and  a  time  to  rebel.     Sometimes 

we  adjust  ourselves  to  circumstance,  and  some- 

113 


THE  VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

times  we  act  on  the  conviction  that  "the  soul 
makes  circumstance. "  Now  we  assert  and  now 
we  deny  the  self.  We  take  action  or  we  await 
developments  as  the  case  may  be.  He  who 
hesitates  sometimes  is  "lost,"  but  again  it  is  he 
who  does  not  hesitate  who  is  lost.  Our  noblest 
conduct,  as  a  rule,  may  spring  from  impulse,  but 
it  is  impulsive  action  that  leads  to  most  of  our 
mistakes.  It  is  "the  exception  that  proves  the 
rule, "  and  here  is  a  rule  without  exception. 

Let  us  venture  the  proposition  that  peace, 
like  happiness,  is  not  a  goal  to  be  sought  or  won 
by  itself.  Happiness,  we  are  all  very  nearly 
agreed,  is  not  obtainable  by  direct  quest,  but  is 
added  in  connection  with  other  things  as  a  result 
or  accompaniment.  We  often  try  to  attain 
happiness  directly;  too  frequently  we  exalt 
pleasure  into  its  place,  and  try  to  make  the  pur- 
suit of  pleasure  our  goal  in  moral  theory  as 
well  as  in  actual  practice.  But  the  experiment 
is  doomed.  We  have  the  wisdom  of  two  thou- 
sand 3^ears  of  ethical  thinking  to  substantiate 
us  in  this  conclusion. 

We  have  not  made  so  much  headway  in  our 
study  of  the  relationships  of  peace,  for  we  have 
not  faced  this  sterner  matter  now  looking  the 
modern  world  squarely  in  the  eye — this  insistent 

114 


THE  MORAL  VALUES 

demand  for  justice.  Too  often  in  the  home,  for 
example,  we  work  for  "peace  at  any  price,"  we 
put  off  problems,  we  shirk  responsibilities,  we 
neglect  our  children,  we  evade  grave  issues  in 
marital  relations.  We  care  so  much  for  what 
we  eulogistically  call  "harmony"  and  our  own 
comfort  that  we  neglect  the  vital  considerations. 
In  short,  we  put  the  cart  before  the  horse,  pur- 
suing peace  instead  of  the  conditions  that  secure 
peace.  Bodily  comfort  has  much  to  do  with 
the  matter.  We  have  uncritically  adopted  an 
attitude  of  evasiveness  with  respect  to  experi- 
ences that  may  bring  pain  or  may  lead  to  war. 
Heaven  has  long  been  eulogized  as  the  abode  of 
sheer  "rest,"  as  if  no  state  could  be  better  than 
one  which  should  offer  no  opportunity  for  fur- 
ther triumphs.  We  have  put  aside  as  unpleas- 
ant the  possibility  that  we  might  still  meet 
obstacles.  Yet  how  poor,  pale,  and  unattrac- 
tive this  whole  picture  is  when  we  really  look 
at  it!  Why  should  there  be  any  future  life  at 
all  unless  justice  shall  be  done  at  last?  Of 
what  avail  is  mere  rest?  Why  not  a  heaven 
that  is  all  action? 

Plainly,  we  need  to  call  in  question  this  whole 
way  of  thinking  that  centers  about  peace  as 
humanity's  goal.     Why  should  we  any  longer 

115 


THE  VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

postpone  thorough  inquiry  into  the  real  causes 
of  war,  sorrow,  and  suffering?  Why  should  we 
evade  the  occasions  for  facing  ourselves,  for 
learning  the  lessons  of  pain  in  all  its  forms? 
We  have  been  steadily  choosing  the  lesser  good. 
Meanwhile  we  have  failed  to  work  for  the  con- 
ditions to  which  peace  together  with  happiness 
shall  be  added. 
^  I  bring  the  matter  home  to  myself  when  I 
realize  that  what  comes  to  me  comes  not  for  my 
peace,  but  for  my  development.  Life  has  my 
total  welfare  in  view,  not  the  feelings  that  per- 
tain to  a  portion  of  my  nature  only.  My  total 
welfare  is  intimately  related  with  that  of  beings 
whom  I  should  treat  justly.  I  have  no  good 
reason  for  taking  up  a  rebellious,  complaining 
attitude,  as  if  I  could  have  the  pleasure  without 
the  pain.  My  experiences  are  not  given  pri- 
marily for  my  comfort.  I  may  need  to  be 
shaken  out  of  my  self-satisfactions  and  my 
pleasures.  If  I  do  not  respond  to  a  hint  I  may 
receive  a  blow,  and  if  that  fail  to  arouse  me  I 
may  need  to  be  knocked  down.  If  I  rebel 
against  beneficent  pain  as  an  evil  come  to  dis- 
turb my  peace,  the  pain  will  increase  in  propor- 
^  tion  to  my  senseless  opposition. 

In  short,  peace  is  so  inconsequential  that  I 

IIG 


THE   MORAL  VALUES 

may  virtually  disregard  it  and  begin  at  last  as  a 
true  man  to  face  life  in  earnest  and  to  "see  it 
whole."  I  need  a  measure  of  peace  or  poise 
at  the  center  to  do  this.  There  are  strong 
reasons  for  maintaining  equanimity.  But  after 
all,  nothing  subjective  is  an  end  in  itself.  It  is 
of  more  consequence  that  life  should  express 
itself  through  me  for  the  good  of  another  than 
that  I  should  keep  my  poise.  I  cannot  hold 
my  peace  when  something  needs  to  be  said. 
My  motive  is  not  to  work  for  my  brother's 
peace,  but  to  labor  for  his  total  good  in  the 
long  run  as  a  social  being,  not  as  an  alleged 
favorite  child  of  fortune.  I  cannot  give  him 
what  he  "wants."  I  must  give  him  what  life 
calls  forth  from  me.  He  may  need  the  most 
direct  speaking.  He  may  need  to  be  stirred 
and  prodded.  I  cannot  be  governed  by  "the 
way  he  will  take  it."  I  should  not  think  of 
the  effect  on  myself,  when  I  am  prompted  to 
speak  unvarnished  truth. 

I  shall  be  far  more  likely  to  work  for  the  good 
of  my  fellows,  then,  when  I  take  justice  as  my 
ideal.  For  justice  is  inevitably  and  once  for  all, 
in  this  life  and  the  next,  involved  in  man's  best 
good.  Justice  comes  so  near  love,  in  fact,  that 
I  shall  hardly  be  able  to  work  for  the  one  without 

9  117 


THE  VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

the  other.  Moreover,  justice  is  a  social  con- 
sideration, and  to  follow  it  out  in  all  its  bearings 
is  very  quickly  to  be  led  out  of  individualism 
into  the  larger  world  of  the  social  order.  The 
new  spirit  of  justice  abroad  in  our  day  is  above 
everything  else  we  seek  by  way  of  reform. 

Again,  our  study  of  the  higher  resistance 
leads  to  the  same  conclusion  with  regard  to  the 
superiority  of  justice.  To  practise  the  higher 
resistance  does  not,  we  have  seen,  mean  to  be  a 
coward,  to  be  inactive,  or  to  express  only  the 
gentler  virtues  in  mild  forms.  It  means  dy- 
namic conviction  in  favor  of  integrity,  con- 
stancy, single-mindedness,  fairness;  and  these 
are  tlie  virtues  that  make  for  justice.  It  means 
patience  and  generosity,  calmness,  charity,  that 
we  may  see  the  right,  that  we  may  be  dispas- 
sionate; but  in  the  end  it  means  action.  It 
shows  how  to  maintain  national  honor — that 
is,  by  keeping  treaties,  maintaining  the  rights 
of  humanity;  in  short,  by  showing  justice  to  all. 
It  is  on  a  higher  level  than  pride.  It  does  not 
council  action  on  the  presumption  of  injured 
self-respect,  but  springs  from  strong  faith  in  the 
highest  principles  of  liberty  in  a  nation.  In  the 
face  of  weak  pleas  for  neutrality,  it  bids  a  man 

stand  for  principle,  for  the  right,  for  justice, 

lis 


THE  MORAL  VALUES 

thereby  showing  the  power  of  justice  in  the 
world.  No  one  who  beheves  in  it  can  long 
hesitate,  for  meanwhile  the  powers  that  make 
for  selfishness  will  be  stealthily  active. 

To  see  the  superiority  of  justice  is  not  then  to 
find  a  new  plea  for  war.  Wars  have  no  doubt 
been  fought  for  noble  as  well  as  for  ignoble  ends. 
They  have  been  fought  for  liberty,  peace, 
national  unity  and  independence,  and  for  the 
protection  of  the  weak.  But  the  advocates  of 
peace  now  assure  us  that  all  these  ends  can  be 
secured  by  higher  means,  that  war  as  a  method 
was  wrong,  since  it  involved  the  violation  of 
law,  also  slavery,  coercion,  and  inhumanities 
without  number.  To  prove  that  they  are  right 
we  must  now  show  the  superior  power  of  the 
resistance  which  makes  for  justice.  Mean- 
while, we  know  why  the  wrong  method  has  so 
long  remained  in  vogue:  because  man  has  lived 
on  the  level  of  instinct,  passion,  emotion,  self- 
interest;  because  he  has  not  been  actuated  by 
love  for  justice. 

Meanwhile,  too,  we  have  long  possessed  the 
teaching  which  has  shown  us  the  righteous 
order  of  relationship  between  the  great  ends. 
"What  doth  the  Lord  require  of  thee  but  to  do 
justly,  and  to  love  mercy,  and  to  walk  humbly 

119 


THE  VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

with  thy  God?"  In  love  to  God  and  the 
neighbor  the  whole  great  law  is  summarized. 
"Now  abideth  faith,  hope,  love,  these  three; 
and  the  greatest  of  these  is  love."  The  other 
values  follow  as  "fruits  of  the  spirit,"  according 
to  their  worth.  Find  these,  find  the  kingdom 
of  God,  and  "all  these  things  shall  be  added 
unto  you."  But  seek  these  things  first,  and 
you  will  fail  to  win  the  supreme  values.  "Seek 
first  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  his  righteousness/' 
this  is  the  condition.  The  term  "righteous- 
ness" is  the  gospel  equivalent  for  justice 
combined  with  the  quickening  love  which  makes 
it  the  central  power  in  human  conduct.  The 
"kingdom"  might  appear  to  be  within,  simply. 
Love  might  be  for  self,  for  things,  for  those  who 
love  us  and  use  us  well.  But  righteousness  is 
out  in  the  open  and  is  concerned  with  one's 
conduct  even  toward  enemies.  It  is  love  filled 
with  the  consciousness  of  what  is  true,  what  is 
fair  to  all,  what  is  for  the  good  of  all.  Never 
can  there  be  peace  either  for  the  individual  or 
for  the  nation  save  on  this  basis. 


VI 

THE   NEW    IDEA   OF   GOD 

ORDINARILY  we  regard  the  idea  of  God 
as  constant.  Brought  up  in  a  certain  so- 
cial group,  we  share  its  faith  and  this  suffices 
for  most  occasions.  The  certainties  of  our  creed 
and  of  the  Bible  as  interpreted  for  us  seem  to 
guarantee  the  immutability  of  the  great  idea. 
Moreover,  we  are  intuitively  sure  that,  what- 
ever the  variations  of  human  belief,  God  at 
least  is  unchangeable.  His  ways,  we  say,  are 
"the  same  yesterday,  to-day,  and  forever"; 
His  truth  inviolate  and  eternal.  We  know  that 
God  as  the  great  All-Father  dwells  with  each 
and  every  one,  though  men  doubt  Him.  Sure- 
ly, men  at  heart  remain  practically  the  same; 
and  what  they  are  at  heart  they  believe. 

Yet  history  does  not  bear  out  the  opinion  that 
the  great  idea  remains  unchanged,  but  shows  it 
to  have  been  constant  neither  in  form  nor  in 
content.     Man  did  not  at  first  possess  what  we 

121 


THE  VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

would  now  call  a  rational  conception  of  God. 
There  was  a  long  process  of  change  from  crude 
animism  through  polytheism  to  a  national  type 
of  belief,  giving  place  in  time  to  other  views  or 
to  religious  and  philosophical  ideas  from  other 
nations.  The  given  idea  in  any  age  or  nation 
was  accepted  only  so  long  as  it  seemed  work- 
able. In  most  cases  the  idea  in  vogue  was  one 
that  met  the  demands  of  a  nation  under  the 
ordinary  conditions  of  peace  and  war,  and  the 
customary  sequences  of  nature,  but  was  hardly 
able  to  withstand  the  test  of  the  exceptional  or 
extraordinary. 

Even  as  late  in  history  as  1G80  the  appearance 
of  a  great  comet  in  the  heavens  led  vast  numbers 
of  people  to  believe  that  the  world  was  about  to 
come  to  an  end.  It  is  recorded  that  throughout 
Europe  during  that  time  supplications  went  up 
to  God  in  earnest  hope  that  the  divine  wrath 
might  be  appeased.  Far  more  influential  was 
the  terrible  earthquake  in  Lisbon  in  1755,  in 
which  thirty  thousand  people  lost  their  lives 
and  as  a  result  of  which  unnumbered  people 
throughout  Europe  lost  their  faith  in  God. 
Every  great  calamity  not  yet  explained  by 
science  has  produced  a  similar  result,  for  popu- 
lar belief  in  God  rests  on  the  well-known,  not 

122 


THE  NEW   IDEA  OF  GOD 

on  knowledge  of  law.  So  long  as  there  is  a 
region  of  the  unexplained,  so  long  as  common 
human  motives  are  attributed  to  God,  there 
will  be  upheavals  when  the  unusual  occurrence 
breaks  into  the  peaceful  round  of  events. 
Then,  too,  intellectual  changes  such  as  those 
attendant  upon  the  discoveries  of  science  may 
at  any  time  disturb  the  accepted  beliefs.  Thus 
the  entire  thought  of  an  age  concerning  God 
must  be  readjusted  with  the  discovery  by  Coper- 
nicus that  the  earth  is  not  the  center  of  the 
universe.  Theologians  at  first  deny  such  dis- 
coveries, and  so  put  off  the  day  of  reckoning; 
but  then  presently  admit  the  new  discoveries 
and  enlarge  their  faith  to  fit  the  facts.  The 
philosophy  of  evolution  wrought  so  great  a 
change  in  the  thought  of  God  in  the  nineteenth 
century  that  the  full  consequences  are  not  yet 
seen.  Before  the  world  could  adjust  itself  to 
the  great  gift  of  science  of  the  century  there 
began  to  sweep  through  Europe  the  new  social- 
izing tendencies  of  our  own  age;  and  then  came 
the  war. 

So  too  in  the  life  of  the  individual  there  is 
constant  likelihood  of  change.  Childhood's 
thought  gives  place  to  the  growing  ideas  that 
come  through  education  and  experience.     The 

123 


THE  VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

interruptions  are  numerous  in  the  life  of  a  per- 
son who  really  takes  experience  seriously.  The 
coming  of  misfortune,  the  death  of  husband, 
wife,  or  child,  may  be  the  cause.  Even  though 
we  believe  in  essentially  the  same  kind  of  God 
our  belief  suffers  modification  with  disruptive 
influences,  or  grows  rich  and  strong  through 
depth  of  experience  and  thought.  All  this  is 
true  despite  the  tenacity  with  which  we  hold 
our  faith  and  the  persistence  with  which  our 
spiritual  leaders  try  to  keep  us  within  the  fold. 

We  are  living  in  a  period  when,  as  the  con- 
ventional teachings  of  most  churches  fail  to 
give  the  light  needed  to  keep  up  with  the  growth 
of  science,  there  are  endless  searchings  for  a 
satisfactory  view.  The  test  of  faith  to-day  is 
probably  greater  than  that  which  evolutionism 
gave  the  world.  Just  as  thinking  men  came  at 
length  to  discard  the  former  idea  of  God  as 
resident  outside  of  the  world,  in  favor  of  the 
new  conception  fostered  by  thought  on  evolu- 
tion, and  to  adopt  the  idea  that  God  lives  and 
functions  in  His  world,  so  in  our  time  thought 
about  the  world-war  may  lead  to  richly  fruitful 
consequences. 

Looking  back  for  a  moment  over  the  road  man 
has  traversed,  we  recall  the  far-off  time  when 

124 


THE  NEW  IDEA  OF  GOD 

God  was  feared,  besought  that  He  might  be  on 
the  side  of  the  favored  nation  and  opposed  to 
all  other  nations.  Limited  and  local  in  extreme, 
for  example,  was  the  thought  of  Jehovah  as 
angry,  jealous,  repentant.  Vestiges  of  this  view 
have  appeared  even  in  our  time  in  a  nation 
claiming  to  have  direct  approach  to  God  through 
superiority  in  material  civilization  and  military 
efficiency.  But  the  world  in  general  is  as  far 
from  belief  in  a  war-god  as  from  acceptance 
of  the  myths  concerning  Mars  or  any  other 
ancient  national  deity.  The  ancient  gods  were 
approached  through  fear,  by  means  of  burnt- 
offerings  and  other  sacrifices.  The  love  which 
Christianity  brought  into  the  world  has  gradu- 
ally set  us  free  from  this  bondage  and  given  us  a 
wholly  different  idea  of  God. 

Almost  from  the  dawn  of  thought  about  the 
world,  God  has  been  regarded  by  some  philoso- 
phers as  one  with  nature,  and  the  actual  soul 
of  the  universe,  the  same  in  substance  and  life 
as  the  world  itself.  A  form  of  this  pantheism, 
as  we  usually  call  it,  is  still  widely  prevalent 
in  our  time;  for  God  is  often  referred  to  as  if 
identical  with  the  forces  of  all  natural  evolution, 
identical  with  the  heat,  light,  electricity,  and 
vital  energies  of  the  world.     Again,  from  time 

125 


THE  VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

immemorial  the  divine  nature  has  been  identi- 
fied with  the  human  soul,  and  the  visible  world 
has  been  almost  ignored.  The  lonely  mystic, 
absorbed  in  the  visions  of  his  own  inner  con- 
sciousness, has  claimed  to  have  the  only  true 
approach  to  the  divine.  While  this  type  of 
thought  has  tended  to  magnify  the  human  soul 
to  the  cosmic  power,  Calvinism  with  its  austere 
ideas  of  the  divine  sovereignty  went  to  the 
other  extreme,  made  everything  of  the  glory  of 
God  and  as  little  as  possible  of  poor,  miserable, 
unfortunate  man.  Probably  the  most  widely 
prevalent  view  to-day  is  that  of  an  impersonal 
being,  thought  of  as  resident  in  the  world,  as 
Spirit  or  Life,  as  the  Ground  of  all,  existing 
energies  and  things. 

That  is,  we  have  discarded  the  thought  of 
God  as  an  isolated  Creator,  without  occupation 
after  the  world  was  made.  We  have  dispensed 
with  the  idea  of  a  divine  autocrat,  diflScult  of 
approach,  and  governing  man  through  severity 
of  will.  We  have  turned  away,  once  for  all, 
from  the  numberless  artificial  gods  of  the  creeds, 
wrought  by  the  theological  ages.  The  newer 
thought  of  God  has  come  about  through  en- 
deavor to  account  for  nature  as  described  by 
modern  science;  for  science  assures  us  that  the 

126 


THE  NEW  IDEA  OF  GOD 

energies  of  the  universe  are  eternally  conserved, 
that  they  are  forms  of  one  cosmic  life;  and  we 
now  hold  that  these  must  have  an  ultimate 
ground.  Science  also  describes  the  universe 
as  an  orderly  system,  uniform,  nowhere  inter- 
rupted, everywhere  operating  by  law,  and  as 
having  been  in  process  for  untold  millions  of 
years.  Believers  in  God  have  steadily  sought 
to  accommodate  their  thought  to  the  magnitude 
of  the  cosmos  as  thus  described.  Science  has 
thus  virtually  made  a  new  revelation  of  the 
nature  and  power  of  God. 

The  central  point  in  this  approach  to  the  idea 
of  God  is  the  realization  that  there  could  be  no 
other  ultimate  Power,  no  opposing  Reality.  It 
follows  that  all  energy  of  life  whatsoever,  in 
great  or  small  events  or  things,  is  part  and  parcel 
of  the  One.  The  clue  to  the  divine  nature  is 
found  by  study  of  the  immanent  activities  of 
star  or  atom,  world  or  man.  Hence  we  have 
come  to  look  for  evidences  of  God's  presence 
amid  the  events  and  things  that  surround  us, 
and  to  seek  evidences  of  His  presence  in  all  these 
occurrences.  God,  we  say,  must  somehow  be 
active  in  all  nature,  even  when  "red  in  tooth  and 
claw."  He  must  bear  some  relation  to  a  Lis- 
bon earthquake,  to  the  hurricane  that  sweeps 

127 


THE  VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

Galveston  to  destruction,  to  the  flood  that  sends 
thousands  to  their  death  in  China;  for  are  not 
these  cataclysms  expressions  of  the  one  great 
system  of  nature,  whose  events  manifest  the 
divine  wisdom?  Can  we  isolate  even  the  worst 
of  these  calamities  from  His  presence? 

The  same  reasoning  has  influenced  us  to 
believe  that  God  is  as  truly  present  with  the 
nations  at  war  as  during  peace,  for  we  can  no 
more  make  an  exception  of  war  than  we  can 
deny  the  relation  of  God  to  an  earthquake  or  a 
hurricane.  From  savage  times  until  now  men 
have  advanced  through  warfare  to  what  we  call 
culture.  The  great  advances  from  tyranny  to 
democracy  have  been  accomplished  through 
war.  Our  own  Anglo-Saxon  principles  of  life 
and  government  were  established  through  war- 
fare. The  founders  of  American  liberty  won 
the  privileges  which  we  enjoy  through  the 
shedding  of  their  blood.  Men  might  have 
followed  another  course.  We  are  now  enlight- 
ened enough  to  declare  that  the  method  of  war 
is  wrong,  that  war  must  cease  once  for  all;  but 
meanwhile  to  afBrm  that  God  is  without  relation 
to  war  would  be  to  separate  Him  from  a  large 
part  of  human  history. 

It  is  not,  of  course,  from  the  divine  love  that 

128 


THE  NEW  IDEA  OF  GOD 

wars  exist;  for  wars,  as  such,  involve  murders, 
plunderings,  violence,  and  cruelties  not  attrib- 
utable to  God.  Yet  when  war  is  regarded  in 
the  light  of  its  inner  origin — that  is,  the  love  of 
ruling  for  selfish  ends,  and  the  desire  to  possess 
the  wealth  of  the  world,  we  realize,  as  one  of  our 
seers  has  pointed  out,  that  "these  two  loves 
cannot  be  kept  bound."  To  be  brought  into 
a  state  of  regeneration  from  his  evil  desires, 
man  must  be  allowed  to  act  from  freedom. 
The  evil  desires  must,  therefore,  be  allowed  to 
break  out  where  they  can  be  seen,  acknowledged, 
and  overcome.  Otherwise  they  would  remain 
shut  in  to  prey  upon  the  substance  of  man's 
nature,  as  a  cancer  or  gangrene  consumes  the 
tissues.  Moreover,  in  so  far  as  man  is  at  the 
mercy  of  selfish  desire,  he  is  in  conflict  with  the 
powers  that  make  for  righteousness.  Plainly, 
no  one  can  be  lifted  out  of  this  conflict  until 
he  sees  that  it  is  a  conflict,  and  why;  until  he 
sees  that  he  is  in  the  hell  of  self-love  and  wishes 
to  be  led  out — that  is,  freely  wills  to  be  led  out. 
Despite  the  murders  and  depredations,  the 
violence  and  cruelties,  God  does  not  check  even 
the  greatest  wars.  There  are  wars,  small  and 
great,  because  these  are  parts  of  the  whole  proc- 
ess through  which  man  struggles  out  of  selfish- 

129 


\ 


THE  VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

ness  into  brotherly  love.  When  we  judge  these 
wars  by  the  appearance  we  are  amazed  that 
God  does  not  stop  them.  We  forget  for  the 
moment  about  the  hotbeds  of  concealed  hatred 
and  evil  passions  which  must  be  exposed  to  the 
light  of  moral  consciousness.  We  fail  to  look 
beneath  the  surface  to  see  in  what  sense  even 
the  divine  tenderness  could  not  intervene  and 
still  be  the  divine  tenderness.  We  forget,  too, 
that  there  are  forces  at  work  in  the  social  order 
which  will  bring  about  unforeseen  changes.  We 
forget  that  in  the  unseen  order  of  the  spiritual 
world  there  may  be  yet  higher  powers  at  work 
for  the  right  in  war-time,  which  may  accomplish 
even  greater  changes.  In  order  to  understand 
the  relationship  of  God  to  war,  we  must  take 
account  of  all  these  powers,  lower  and  higher. 
It  may  well  be  that,  from  the  point  of  view 
of  the  spiritual  world,  what  appears  to  us  as  an 
unmixed  evil,  hell  itself  in  all  its  fury,  is  seen  as 
a  process  or  preparation  for  a  great  spiritual 
awakening.  To  gain  this  point  of  view  and  try 
to  live  by  it  on  earth  would  not  indeed  be  to 
favor  war,  or  even  to  participate  in  it  save  in 
self-defense  when  no  other  method  avails;  but 
it  would  help  us  to  transfer  the  center  of  interest 
from  effects  to  causes,  and  to  the  compensations 

130 


THE  NEW  IDEA  OF  GOD 

presently  to  be  disclosed.  We  would  then  take 
the  long  look  ahead;  we  would  think  in  accord- 
ance with  the  divine  purposes.  Moreover, 
these  considerations  would  give  us  pause  in  our 
conventional  arraignments  of  men,  our  harsh 
judgments  of  God.  We  would  see  that  even 
militarism  might  serve  a  purpose — that  is,  when 
a  war  must  be  brought  to  a  completion  which 
shall  really  settle  matters  once  for  all.  On  the 
whole  we  would  suspend  judgment  and  await 
insights  into  the  spiritual  meaning  of  events. 

It  could  never  be  truly  said  then  that  God 
"sends"  war,  but  that  in  His  wisdom  war  is 
permitted,  is  not  checked  or  otherwise  regulated 
so  as  to  interfere  with  moral  freedom.  To 
understand  the  relation  of  God  to  war,  it  is 
necessary  then  to  see  it  in  the  light  of  the  total 
process  of  human  life.  Salvation  from  it  will 
come  not  by  working  against  it  as  an  isolated 
evil,  not  by  making  peace  the  one  great  end: 
it  will  come  through  the  attainment  of  social 
conditions  involving  a  different  mode  of  life. 
It  will  come  in  so  far  as  man  acknowledges  his 
selfishness  and  co-operates  with  his  fellow-men 
to  put  an  end  to  self-love  in  all  its  forms.  It 
will  come  when  the  ideal  of  brotherhood  becomes 
the  rule  of  life. 

131 


THE   VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

It  is,  in  fact,  no  longer  said  that  God  "sends" 
the  earthquake,  or  the  hurricane,  or  any  other 
calamity.  We  no  longer  say  that  God  decrees 
such  catastrophes  because  He  is  "angry,"  or 
that  He  "inflicts"  suffering  upon  men  because 
of  their  sins.  What  we  now  say  is  that  God  is 
the  one  source  of  life  and  power,  inseparable 
from  all  social  conditions.  He  is  not  in  war  or 
any  other  evil  to  approve  of  it.  War  is  not 
from  Him.  His  presence  cannot,  in  any  sense, 
be  regarded  as  absolving  man  from  responsi- 
bility. God  is  with  men  in  war,  as  in  all  other 
evils,  to  lead  men  through  temptation  to 
spiritual  victory.  He  is  with  the  soul,  the 
heart.  Somehow  in  the  divine  patience,  in  the 
divine  purpose  and  wisdom,  as  in  the  divine 
love,  mercy,  and  peace,  these  things  can  be. 
He  is  not  in  the  thunder,  the  earthquake,  or  the 
lightning  in  the  sense  that  He  is  in  "the  still, 
small  voice. "  Truly  to  know  His  presence,  we 
must  be  aware  of  it  in  this  interior  sense.  Yet, 
finding  Him  within,  we  realize  that  in  deepest 
truth  He  is  never  nearer  the  soul  than  in  these 
times  of  trouble  and  trial,  when  men  are  ap- 
parently forsaken  —  these  upheavals,  calami- 
ties, and  wars,  typified  by  the  thunder,  the 
earthquake,   and  the   lightning  —  when    there 

132 


THE  NEW  IDEA  OF  GOD 

appears  to  be  only  strife  and  hatred  in  the 
world. 

So  too  we  must  affirm  that  in  one  respect 
He  is  not  with  us  in  our  sins,  not  in  the  hells 
of  self-will,  that  is,  not  to  countenance  our 
self-will  or  its  consequences.  Yet  in  the  very 
lowest  moment  He  is  with  men  as  Father,  un- 
qualified in  mercy,  unstinted  in  love;  with  every 
step  toward  the  good,  with  every  impulse  toward 
brotherly  love,  with  every  thought  of  guiding 
wisdom.  His  is  the  power  that  impels  us  to 
change  or  progress.  His  the  triumph  through 
which  we  win  temptation.  Out  of  the  greatest 
suffering,  misery,  calamity,  the  greatest  impetus 
toward  brotherhood  may  come.  Amid  war  the 
lover  of  liberty  may  make  the  boldest  of  all 
moves  for  right  and  justice.  Wonderful  indeed 
are  the  compensations. 

We  need  not  then  stop  with  faith's  sheer 
assertion  that  God  is  with  us  in  all  times  and 
places.  If  we  merely  dwell  on  the  divine  pa- 
tience with  all  men,  emphasizing  the  fact  that 
God  is  impartial,  we  may  lapse  into  neutrality 
once  more.  Let  us  have  the  courage  to  say 
that  God  has  definite  purposes,  that  these  pur- 
poses adjust  all  things  and  events  in  order  and 
degree;  hence  that  everything  depends  upon  the 
10  133 


THE  VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

connection,  the  value.  Thus  we  may  guard 
against  the  tendency  to  identify  God  with  the 
forces  of  Hfe  and  nature  in  general;  we  may 
avoid  thinking  of  Him  as  a  vague,  formless 
essence  equally  present  with  all  things,  and 
dispassionately  awaiting  the  outcome  of  all 
evolution.  We  may  declare  with  utmost  con- 
fidence that  God  is  distinctive,  possesses  a 
character,  is  highly  organized,  is  working 
steadily  for  certain  ends  in  contrast  with  all 
others. 

Undoubtedly  the  profoundest,  most  promising 
tendency  in  current  thought  is  this  newer  faith 
in  God  as  immanent  in  the  world.  Men  are 
valiantly  trying  to  see  the  course  of  the  divine 
wisdom  in  events.  They  are  more  and  more 
coming  to  regard  God  as  living  to-day,  not  as 
having  lived.  Thus  the  tendency  is  to  transfer 
allegiance  from  creeds,  authorities,  books,  to 
the  actual  presence  regarded  as  imbuing  Spirit. 
This  tendency  reaches  its  highest  level  in  the 
love  which  sees  God  in  humanity.  Here  indeed 
is  the  true  clue  to  the  divine  immanence,  the 
way  of  progress  beyond  all  pantheism  and  vague 
theism. 

Let  us  then  bring  these  issues  close  home  by 
trying  to  realize  m  what  sense  God  is  present  in 

134 


THE  NEW  IDEA  OF  GOD 

human  affairs  as  they  pass  from  day  to  day,  in 
what  sense  He  is  with  you  and  me.  Is  He 
present  to  stand  apart  from  all  our  activities, 
favoring  none,  calmly  watching  whatever  we 
may  chance  to  do?  Is  He  present  as  mere  law, 
sheer  fate,  while  we  are  swept  forward  by 
forces  which  mathematically  measure  out  to  us 
the  rewards  or  ruin  we  deserve?  Is  He  equally 
present  to  all,  with  the  same  approval  or  con- 
demnation? Is  He  as  truly  one  with  the  nation 
stooping  to  the  worst  devices  in  war  the  world 
has  known  as  with  the  peoples  who  have  sacri- 
ficed everything  to  come  to  the  rescue  of  their 
besieged  and  oppressed  fellow-men?  Or  is  He 
present  through  our  freedom,  more  abundantly 
present  as  we  ascend  the  scale,  ever  ready  to 
quicken  and  guide,  ever  working  toward  the 
good,  but  never  forcing  goodness  upon  us? 
If  thus  present  He  is  in  our  higher  sentiments, 
our  unselfishness  and  love,  in  a  sense  in  which 
He  is  not  with  us  in  our  passions,  our  scorns, 
our  self-love.  Great  indeed  must  be  His  mercy 
when  we  are  given  the  liberty  of  thought  and 
the  freedom  of  will  which  our  moral  conduct 
implies,  namely,  when  we  are  tempted  to  be 
base,  mean,  selfish,  instead  of  electing  the  good. 
Far-reaching  indeed  must  be  His  wisdom  when 

135 


THE  VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

the  great  nations  are  granted  freedom  to 
slaughter  one  another.  Greater  still  must  be 
His  love  when  tenderly  sustaining  the  soldier 
on  the  battlefield,  though  the  latter  turn  aside 
and  give  vent  to  the  fiercest  passions  of  hell. 
The  central  thought  always  is  this:  What  would 
God  have  us  do  and  become.'^  What  is  the  ideal 
which  calls  for  full  response  of  thought  and  will 
"as  members  one  of  another".'^ 

This  realization  of  the  sense  in  which  God  is 
near  shows  that  God  is  more  than  divine  as  we 
often  think  of  the  divine.  We  may  venture  to 
say  that  in  this  tender  love  He  is  also  human. 
The  Father  does  not  merely  manifest  Himself 
as  power  or  energy.  He  incarnates  His  own 
selfhood  in  the  race.  He  descends  from  highest 
to  lowest,  from  inmost  to  outermost,  and  im- 
bues that  which  is  most  external  or  remote  with 
life.  He  becomes  personal  through  persons, 
stopping  not  with  Fatherhood  in  the  universal 
sense,  but  quickening  us  into  sonship  through 
Jesus  Christ  and  by  becoming  in  and  for  all  the 
race  the  Saviour  of  men.  Hence  to  draw  as 
near  as  possible  to  Him  is  to  begin  from  within 
or  above,  taking  our  clue  from  the  incarnating 
Spirit,  seeing  God  in  Jesus  Christ  as  Lord  and 
Father  in  all  the  sons  of  men, 

136 


THE  NEW  IDEA  OF  GOD 

Language  fails  us  when  we  try  to  express  this 
the  supreme  idea.  But  we  find  in  various 
passages  of  John's  gospel  statements  which 
express  the  divine  and  the  human  at  the  same 
time.  At  one  moment  we  have  the  man  Jesus 
speaking  as  if  typical  of  any  human  being  who 
prays  to  the  Father.  At  another  moment  we 
have  the  Father  as  if  distinct.  But,  again,  the 
two  are  so  far  one  that  he  who  has  seen  Jesus 
has  discerned  the  Eternal  Father.  The  greatest 
thought  of  all  comes  with  the  teaching  that  all 
men  are  even  as  "branches"  in  their  member- 
ship with  one  another  in  the  central  vine,  which 
represents  the  divine  love.  It  is  this  supreme 
ideal  which  we  are  approaching  in  these  new 
days  of  the  social  touch,  the  appeal  for  soli- 
darity, the  awakening  of  the  nations  at  war 
into  newness  of  spiritual  conviction. 

"Abide  in  me,  and  I  in  you.  As  the  branch 
cannot  bear  fruit  of  itself,  except  it  abide  in  the 
vine;  no  more  can  ye,  except  ye  abide  in  me  .  .  . 
for  apart  from  me  ye  can  do  nothing. "  We  are 
in  every  way  as  dependent  as  if  incapable  of 
lifting  a  finger  by  any  power  of  our  own.  There 
is  but  one  source  of  power  or  life,  wisdom  or 
love;  but  one  purpose  that  shapes  our  destiny. 
No  one  can  change  that  power.     No  one  can 

137 


THE   VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

defeat  the  divine  purpose,  whatever  the  warfare 
of  the  nations.  To  realize  this  central  truth  is 
to  make  the  great  beginning  in  right  thought 
about  God. 

But,  the  teaching  continues,  "I  am  the  vine, 
ye  are  the  branches;  he  that  abideth  in  me,  and 
I  in  him,  the  same  bringeth  forth  much  fruit. 
Herein  is  my  Father  glorified,  that  ye  bear 
much  fruit;  so  shall  ye  be  my  disciples."  As 
members  of  the  vine,  no  two  of  us  are  alike,  no 
two  fulfil  precisely  the  same  purpose.  The 
Father  is  near  through  Sonship  to  each  and  all, 
in  guidance  and  tenderness,  through  prompting 
and  protection.  He  is  with  us  not  merely  in 
the  sense  that  He  becomes  human  in  and  for 
each  of  us.  He  is  with  us  not  alone  through  the 
truths  of  Scripture,  and  the  ideal  incarnation 
attained  nineteen  centuries  ago.  He  is  with 
us  through  all  humanity  to-day,  through  the 
present  activity  of  the  vine  and  branches,  the 
events  of  the  living  hour  in  the  struggling, 
aspiring  race. 

"As  the  Father  hath  loved  me,  so  I  have 
loved  you:  continue  ye  in  my  love.  If  ye  keep 
my  commandments,  ye  shall  abide  in  my  love; 
even  as  I  have  kept  my  Father's  command- 
ments, and  abide  in  his  love."     Here  is  the 

138 


THE  NEW  IDEA  OF  GOD 

complete  law.  Here  we  have  the  human  self 
speaking  and  showing  the  way,  proving  it  by 
works,  by  faith  and  teachings,  as  well  as  by  love. 
Here,  too,  we  have  the  ideal  for  all  men  to- 
day. But  here  we  have  the  Father,  also,  in  an 
intimacy  which  calls  for  the  figure  of  the  vine 
and  the  branches  to  be  true  to  its  nearness. 
For  remember,  with  what  love  the  Father  loved 
the  world  of  men  that  He  gave  Himself  to  us 
in  "the  fullness  of  the  Godhead,"  in  actual  life 
among  us  all.  Surely  there  is  recognition 
enough  in  the  gospels  of  the  sins  and  sorrows  of 
the  world.  Surely  God  is  brought  into  the 
greatest  closeness  with  humanity  in  war-time. 
But  surely,  too,  there  is  distinctive  thought;  for 
the  Father  came,  the  Father  now  comes  as  love, 
through  an  infinitely  tender  heart  touched  with 
compassion  for  the  struggles  and  miseries  of 
men. 

The  figure  of  the  vine  and  the  branches,  of 
course,  merely  symbolizes  the  greater  truth. 
If  we  were  literally  like  branches,  then  mysti- 
cism would  be  true,  God  would  be  the  sum-total 
of  all  souls,  identical  in  substance  with  men. 
We  are  "members"  in  such  wise  as  to  love  even 
as  the  Master  taught  us  to  love,  abiding  in  that 
love  in  utmost  constancy.     We  are  "organs  of 

139 


THE   VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

life,"  each  with  his  individuality  and  place. 
No  one  shall  know  what  the  ineffable  kinship 
of  the  vine  and  the  branches  signifies  save  so 
far  as,  chosen  by  the  Father,  the  Father  accom- 
plishes His  work  through  us.  In  this  ideal 
sense  we  are  not  merely  recipients  as  a  branch 
might  receive  sustenance  from  the  vine,  we  are 
not  servants;  we  are  "friends"  or  disciples  to 
whom  the  divine  love  has  been  given  unquali- 
fiedly, that  we  may  co-operate  in  full  degree 
with  one  another.  Since  the  Master  thus 
reveals  the  ideal  human  attitude  in  all  its  full- 
ness, the  attitude  of  the  Father  is  disclosed 
also.  Only  in  this  divine-human  sense  are  we 
able  to  approach  God  so  that  we  may  know  our 
full  true  place  in  the  social  order. 

To  carry  out  this  thought  of  God  in  such  a 
way  as  to  see  the  divine  part  in  the  struggles  of 
men  at  large,  in  war-time,  for  example,  is  first  to 
see  the  law  in  our  own  lives.  We  are  asked  to 
realize  in  what  sense  the  divine  is  with  us 
amid  conditions  apparently  the  most  remote 
from  Him.  To  answer  we  must  have  a  working 
conception  of  the  pathway  of  the  spiritual  life. 
For  we  are  in  process.  The  ideal  does  not  call 
for  rest,  but  for  growth.     Every  branch  within 

us  that  is  not  bearing  fruit  the  Father  is  taking 

140 


THE   NEW   IDEA  OF  GOD 

away.  We  are  even  cast  forth  as  a  branch  to  be 
burned,  if  fruitless.  We  are  so  tested  that 
heavenly  truth  shall  really  abide  in  us.  We  are 
left  as  it  were  alone,  to  be  hated  and  persecuted, 
well-nigh  killed,  mayhap  slain  on  the  battle- 
field. Any  number  of  tribulations  may  come. 
"In  the  world  ye  shall  have  tribulation." 
Only  through  these  tests  are  we  able  fully  to 
work  out  and  know  the  law,  live  out  and  real- 
ize the  love.  Thus  shall  it  become  known 
at  last  whether  we  really  believe  in  God. 
Whole  nations  are  tested  in  this  way  in  war- 
time. 

Are  you  able  to  meet  the  tests?  Can  you 
discern  the  love  of  God  in  the  severest  trial 
that  ever  came  into  your  life?  Can  you  detect 
the  light  even  in  the  darkest  hour  of  suffering 
and  sorrow?  If  so,  you  should  be  able  to  look 
forth  upon  your  fellow-men  with  new  eyes,  with 
a  heart  touched  by  the  presence  of  the  Comfort- 
er. For  you  will  everywhere  see  the  same  God 
quickening  mankind  as  a  whole  as  His  love  has 
quickened  you.  You  will  not  be  disturbed  by 
calamity,  or  even  troubled  by  the  war  in  the 
sense  of  blame  or  fear.  You  will  see  that  God 
is  as  surely  with  men  to-day  as  in  the  most 
favored  ages.     You  will  turn  with  new  interest 

141 


THE   VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

to  that  priceless  record  of  His  presence  in  the 
gospels,  and  read  the  Bible  as  a  living  book  of 
the  Spirit,  the  clue  to  man's  whole  pathway 
to  the  spiritual  life. 

To  stop  with  the  idea  of  Jesus  the  Son  as  that 
idea  has  widely  prevailed  in  the  world,  namely, 
the  theory  that  Christ  suffered  and  died  for  us, 
is  apparently  to  be  absolved  from  the  one  effort 
which  teaches  us  most  truly  to  know  the  Father. 
Each  one  must  come  into  the  full  experience 
and  consciousness.  Each  must  make  the  effort 
and  live  the  life.  Each  must  acknowledge  the 
true  Lord.  There  is  no  other  way.  Then  each 
shall  go  forth  in  the  spirit  of  the  full  social 
gospel  of  our  time,  guided  by  the  clue  of  the 
vine  and  the  branches.  There  must  first  be 
God  in  the  full  true  personal  sense;  then  man  in 
all  his  distinctiveness,  his  powers  of  thought 
and  will;  but  finally  God  in  union  with  all 
humanity  in  co-operative  service. 

This  is  the  new  idea  of  God,  the  idea  ever  new 

yet  never  old,  which  we  are  working  out  in  our 

time.     If  we  have  found  God  in  the  loneliness 

of  our  own  wanderings,  the  depths  of  our  sorrow, 

the  intimacies  of  our  thought  in  quest  of  truth, 

we  ought  to  find  Him  everywhere  and  in  the 

race  as  a  whole.     For  God  is  the  Lord  through 

Ui 


THE  NEW   IDEA  OF  GOD 

the  whole  course  of  history.  He  casts  withered 
and  fruitless  branches  into  the  fire  all  along 
the  pathway.  He  is  everywhere  the  same.  His 
love  abides  immutable.  His  wisdom  is  con- 
stant. He  is  present  in  the  nations  at  war 
through  the  wisdom  which  allows  them  to  go 
to  the  last  extreme  of  wilfulness,  through  the 
love  which  ever  seeks  to  free  them  from  the  hell 
they  create  for  themselves.  He  still  wills  the 
triumph  of  the  good,  the  humane  and  loyal. 
He  is  brought  nearer  even  by  the  very  struggles 
which  seem  to  belie  His  presence.  In  every 
moment  of  existence  it  is  still  true  that  "in 
Him  we  live,  and  move,  and  have  our  being." 
It  is  still  true  that 

Nearer  He  is  than  breathing. 
And  closer  than  hands  and  feet. 

He  is  near  in  nature,  yet  is  not  the  same  as 
the  forces  of  the  physical  world.  He  is  near  in 
history,  yet  more  than  history  because  above 
all  time.  He  is  near  in  humanity,  but  in  the 
sense  of  Lord  and  Father.  He  is  near  in  the 
individual  soul,  but  the  individual  is  still  man: 
he  is  not  God.  Forever  He  is  near  as  the  living 
Spirit  or  Comforter  encompassing  every  human 
heart,   with  every  human   sorrow.     "He   will 

143 


THE  VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

not  suffer  thy  foot  to  be  moved:  He  that  keep- 
eth  thee  will  not  slumber.  Behold,  He  that 
keepeth  Israel  shall  neither  slumber  nor  sleep." 
"The  Lord  shall  preserve  thy  going  out  and  thy 
coming  in  from  this  time  forth,  and  even  for 
evermore." 


VII 

CHRISTIANITY   IN   WAR-TIME 

THE  events  in  the  world  to-day  have 
brought  us  to  the  point  where  the  test 
of  Christianity  is  its  relation  to  warfare. 
Should  a  Christian  under  any  circumstances 
take  up  arms  and  kill?  Or  should  he  adopt  the 
attitude  of  passive  resistance  even  when  home 
and  country  are  attacked?  Will  the  moral 
benefit  to  the  world  be  greater  if  the  Christian 
permit  an  enemy  to  enter  his  home  or  country 
to  steal,  burn,  and  slay?  Or  is  it  right  under 
determinate  conditions  to  bear  arms  in  defense 
of  one's  own — that  is,  when  treaties  are  broken 
and  reason  is  unheeded? 

These  issues  have  come  recurrently  before 
the  world  ever  since  the  dawn  of  our  era.  There 
have  always  been  martyrs  for  the  faith,  wars  in 
the  name  of  Christ.  The  prevailing  opinion 
has  seemed  to  favor  warfare  for  defensive  pur- 
poses only.     On  the  whole,  the  disciple  of  pas- 

145 


THE  VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

sive  resistance  has  shown  lack  of  adaptabiUty 
to  the  world,  howbeit  he  has  yearned  for  "the 
city  of  God,"  ever  eager  to  save  souls  for  the 
kingdom  of  heaven. 

The  fact  that  the  issues  have  been  raised 
anew  in  the  face  of  world-wide  danger  indicates 
that  the  time  has  come  to  push  the  matter  to 
the  ultimate  test.  So  many  plans  for  the  solu- 
tion of  international  disputes  have  been  pro- 
posed that  one  cannot  help  believing  that  the 
time  is  at  hand  when  war  must  cease  so  far  as 
Christians  are  concerned.  Indeed,  there  are 
those  who  would  go  so  far  as  to  urge  every  young 
man  to  sign  a  pledge  never  under  any  circum- 
stances to  take  part  in  war.  It  is  well  to  recog- 
nize the  tendency  to  ignore  patriotism,  even  to 
neglect  suffering  peoples  across  the  seas,  or  turn 
from  threatening  dangers  near  by,  when  to  take 
action  would  mean  to  engage  sooner  or  later 
in  war.  This  sentiment  may  not  be  wide-spread, 
but  it  is  one  of  the  signs  of  the  times. 

It  is  no  less  important  to  avoid  sweeping 
generalizations.  If,  for  example,  we  affirm  that 
no  Christian  should  ever  go  to  war,  that  every 
man  who  has  ever  borne  arms  is  so  far  "a 
pagan,"  we  come  near  condemning  the  noblest 
men  and  some  of  the  greatest  nations  that  have 

14G 


CHRISTIANITY  IN   WAR-TIME 

ever  lived  on  this  earth,  men  to  whom  we  owe 
most  of  the  Kberties  we  enjoy.  It  would  seem 
more  reasonable  to  confine  our  statements  to 
what  shall  he,  when  we  have  found  a  way  to 
make  Christianity  internationally  effective. 
There  have  been  wars  of  pure  aggression,  wars 
brought  on  by  self-seeking  rulers  and  military 
leaders,  wars  as  wide  as  the  poles  asunder  from 
Christian  motives.  But  the  warfare  conducted 
by  the  Netherlanders,  for  example,  against 
"Christian"  Spain  plainly  belongs  under  anoth- 
er head.  There  have  been  wars  when  a  whole 
people  fought  for  liberty  and  democracy.  It 
would  be  beyond  reason  to  classify  all  wars 
under  one  head.  What  is  reasonable  is  to  find 
the  best  way  to  take  the  next  step  in  Christian 
evolution. 

Granting  the  contention  that  Christianity  is 
little  known  and  has  seldom  been  tried,  it  is 
now  our  privilege  to  make  trial  of  it  by  devel- 
oping a  genuinely  Christian  nation.  There  is 
always  the  prior  question.  What  is  Christian- 
ity? To  try  to  settle  points  in  dispute  before 
we  have  9 greed  concerning  the  original  gospel 
is  indeed  to  proceed  at  random.  But  we  need 
not  now  argue  the  case,  since  our  age  is  more 
and  more  coming  to  the  conclusion  that  the 

147 


THE  VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

original  gospel  was  essentially  "social"  in  the 
sense  now  understood  by  the  phrase  "the  social 
touch. "  To  consider  the  relation  of  the  gospel 
to  war  is,  therefore,  to  begin  by  noting  how  the 
Master  inculcated  the  ideal  of  a  heavenly 
democracy  on  earth  in  the  light  of  the  necessary 
adaptation  to  the  world. 

We  may  at  once  agree  that  the  gospel  per- 
tains above  all  to  the  gentler  virtues  and  the 
inner  life — that  is,  the  life  of  spiritual  peace.  In 
one  respect  the  interpretations  of  the  gospel 
have  always  been  right.  We  know  once  for 
all  that  the  central  motive  is  love,  that  brother- 
hood is  the  social  ideal,  and  that  God  is  regarded 
as  universal  Father.  We  know,  too,  that  self- 
sacrifice  is  highly  praised,  that  compassion 
should  be  a  ruling  motive,  that  we  should  succor 
the  wounded  and  care  for  the  weak.  Many 
of  the  virtues  would  be  thought  of  in  much  the 
same  way  by  vast  numbers  of  Christians. 

The  issues  begin  to  be  narrowed  when,  noting 
that  Christ's  kingdom  "is  not  of  this  world," 
we  try  to  discover  In  what  sense  the  gospel  calls 
for  adjustment  to  the  existing  social  world. 
Some  interpreters  hold  that  the  gospel  incul- 
cates precepts  for  use  in  this  world  which  admit 
of  no   qualification   whatever.     One  of  these, 

148 


CHRISTIANITY  IN   WAR-TIME 

taking  its  clue  from  the  commandment,  "Thou 
shalt  not  kill,"  is  the  absolute  prohibition  con- 
cerning the  use  of  force,  a  command  which 
makes  it  always  a  crime  to  engage  in  war. 
That  is  to  say,  the  practice  of  peace  as  an  end  in 
itself  is  imperative,  and  passive  resistance  is 
everywhere  the  guide.  The  central  precept  is 
implied  indeed  in  the  command  of  the  Master 
to  the  disciple,  "Put  up  thy  sword  into  its 
place,  for  all  they  that  take  the  sword  shall 
perish  with  the  sword. " 

On  the  other  hand,  it  may  be  argued  that 
since  Christ's  kingdom  is  not  of  this  external 
world,  but  is  of  the  kingdom  of  motives — that 
is,  of  the  spirit — the  Master's  precepts  pertain 
primarily  to  the  inner  life,  and  are  not  pre- 
scriptive with  respect  to  outward  deeds.  The 
reasons  for  this  position  are  found  in  the  highly 
significant  truth  that  the  gospel  is  not  neutral, 
but  shows  convincingly  that  "no  man  can 
serve  two  masters,"  and  is  unfaltering  in  its 
insistence  on  the  guidance  of  the  inward  light; 
while  both  by  precept  and  by  example  the 
Master  shows  that  different  rules  apply  to 
different  occasions  in  adjustment  to  the  world. 
If  the  contention  of  the  unqualified  advocates 
of  passive  resistance  be  a  sound  one,  then  an 

II  149 


THE   VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

external  rule  is  substituted  for  the  rule  of  the 
spirit.  If,  however,  the  rule  of  the  spirit  shall 
obtain,  the  question  of  adaptation  to  the  world  is 
once  for  all  subordinate. 

Nothing  is  plainer  than  the  apparently  in- 
consistent course  pursued  by  the  Master,  both 
in  precept  and  by  example,  so  far  as  the  rela- 
tionship of  Master  and  disciples  to  the  world  is 
concerned.  This  course  will  always  seem  in- 
consistent, and  it  will  be  necessary  to  explain 
away  certain  passages,  or  ignore  them,  while 
the  attempt  is  made  to  judge  the  gospel  from 
the  outside.  Thus,  for  example,  there  is  the 
hard  saying,  "Think  not  that  I  am  come  to 
send  peace  on  earth;  I  came  not  to  send  peace, 
but  a  sword  ...  to  set  a  man  against  his 
father,  and  the  daughter  against  her  mother, 
and  the  daughter-in-law  against  her  mother- 
in-law.  "  Then  too  there  is  the  display  of  force 
in  driving  the  money-changers  from  the  temple, 
there  are  the  intensely  pointed  denunciations 
of  liars,  blind  guides,  and  hypocrites.  There 
are,  in  fact,  apparent  inconsistencies  running 
through  the  gospels.  These  have  always  given 
much  trouble. 

On  the  other  hand,  if  we  realize  the  force  of 
the  gospel  as  a  universal  guide  to  every  possible 

150 


CHRISTIANITY  IN   WAR-TIME 

need  or  situation  regarded  from  within,  we  see 
that  there  must  be  external  inconsistency  if 
there  shall  be  utter  faithfulness  in  the  inner  life. 
It  will  not  then  trouble  us  in  the  least  that  the 
gospel  clothes  itself  in  various  forms  on  different 
occasions.  We  may  guard  against  the  tendency 
apparent  all  through  the  Christian  centuries  to 
imitate  the  letter  of  the  gospel,  to  the  neglect 
of  the  spirit.  We  may  then  accept  without 
difficulty  the  historical  fact  that  "  new  occasions 
teach  new  duties, "  and  we  may  be  prepared  to 
recognize  true  Christians  wherever  we  see  them 
even  when  they  differ  radically  in  external  or 
social  conduct. 

Starting  then  with  a  renewed  study  of  the 
Master's  mission  in  the  world,  we  note  that 
from  beginning  to  end,  in  word  and  deed  there 
is  adaptation  to  the  world  of  that  day,  adjust- 
ment to  the  occasion,  and  precepts  to  fit  the 
occasion.  This  adaptation  begins  with  the 
use  of  language  adapted  to  the  multitude,  to 
the  disciples  apart  from  the  crowd,  and  again 
to  this  or  that  special  group  hostile  or  friendly. 
It  regards  customs  and  fulfils  them,  or  sets 
them  aside  in  favor  of  a  higher  law,  as  in  the 
case  of  the  corn  plucked  in  the  fields  on  Sunday 
and   the  works  of  healing  performed   on   the 

151 


THE  VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

Sabbath.  The  Master  ate  and  drank  with  sin- 
ners, forgave  the  sinner  "who  loved  much," 
and  otherwise  acted  contrary  to  expectations, 
while  at  the  same  time  meeting  the  age  where 
it  was  in  order  to  attain  a  certain  end.  Now 
we  find  the  Master  going  up  to  Jerusalem  not 
openly,  "but  as  it  were  in  secret,"  and  again 
we  find  no  attempt  made  to  elude  the  enemies 
of  the  gospel.  Now  the  Master  takes  a  hidden 
way  through  the  crowd,  or  departs  into  a 
mountain  to  avoid  arrest  by  force,  but  again 
submits  to  force,  even  to  the  crucifixion.  The 
only  reasonable  explanation  appears  to  be  that 
in  the  one  case  "the  time  was  not  fulfilled," 
while  in  the  other  it  was  "at  hand."  That  is, 
every  decision,  every  move,  is  for  a  purpose, 
and  in  that  purpose  consistency  is  alone  to  be 
found. 

Again,  the  Master,  choosing  disciples  from 
among  the  common  people,  those  fitted  to  a 
certain  purpose,  including  the  betrayer,  teaches 
them  according  to  the  need  of  the  hour.  Jesus 
does  not  merely  give  counsel  concerning  the 
truths  to  be  taught,  but  warns  the  disciples 
against  insidious  errors,  hypocrites  masquerad- 
ing in  sheep's  clothing,  false  prophets  likely  to 
deceive  the  elect,  and  those  not  worthy  to  re- 

152 


CHRISTIANITY   IN   WAR-TIME 

ceive  the  gospel.  This  instruction  was  suffi- 
ciently specific  to  guide  the  disciples  into  certain 
towns  and  away  from  others,  as,  avoiding  "the 
way  of  the  Gentiles,"  they  were  to  seek  "the 
lost  sheep  of  Israel. "  He  warned  them,  too,  in 
regard  to  unfriendly  men  in  authority  and  gave 
counsel  concerning  their  procedure,  putting 
the  emphasis  on  the  principle  they  should  live 
by,  not  on  a  supposably  iron-clad  precept. 
The  disciples  were  to  go  forth  as  sheep  among 
wolves,  wisely  meeting  the  development  of  the 
hour.  They  were  not  bidden  to  overcome  all 
opposition,  but  rather  to  go  where  there  was 
receptivity  and  faith,  in  adaptation  to  friend- 
liness, in  contrast  with  an  attitude  which 
merited  the  shaking  of  the  dust  from  one's  feet. 
Note,  too,  how  the  instructions  differ  in 
varying  cases.  When  the  disciples  are  first  sent 
forth  they  are  advised  to  "provide  neither  gold 
nor  silver  .  .  .  neither  two  coats,  neither  shoes, 
nor  yet  a  staff."  At  that  time  they  are  sent 
forth  for  a  brief  period  and  the  Master  is  not 
far  away.  When  the  final  instructions  are 
given,  however,  emphasis  is  placed  upon  the 
greater  tests  of  faith  and  the  more  adverse 
conditions  presently  to  beset  the  disciples.  The 
Master   reminds   the   disciples   that   the   first 

153 


THE  VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

instructions  were  sufficient  to  meet  the  simpler 
demands.  He  now  says,  "he  that  hath  a  purse 
let  him  take  it,  and  likewise  his  bag;  and  he 
that  hath  no  sword,  let  him  sell  his  garment, 
and  buy  one."  Two  swords  are  apparently 
"  enough. "  This  is  surely  no  argument  in  favor 
of  war.  Nevertheless,  the  gospel  here  teaches 
adaptation  to  the  world  as  surely  as  in  the 
sermon  on  the  mount  when  the  higher  resistance 
is  in  question,  or  when  certain  men  are  un- 
qualifiedly condemned  as  liars,  blind  guides,  or 
hypocrites. 

Just  as  in  the  Master's  own  case  a  purpose 
was  to  be  fulfilled  whatever  might  happen,  so 
now  the  disciples  are  warned  against  the  tribu- 
lations to  be  suffered  in  the  world,  and  taught 
how  to  meet  them,  that  the  end  in  view  shall  be 
attained.  "And  ye  shall  hear  of  wars  and  ru- 
mors of  wars:  see  that  ye  be  not  troubled:  for 
all  these  things  must  come  to  pass,  but  the  end 
is  not  yet.  For  nation  shall  arise  against 
nation,  and  kingdom  against  kingdom.  .  .  . 
And  this  gospel  of  the  kingdom  shall  be  preached 
in  all  the  world  for  a  witness  unto  all  the  nations; 
and  then  shall  the  end  come."  Meanwhile,  the 
law  is  that,  "he  that  endureth  to  the  end,  the 
same    shall    be    saved";    and    the   counsel  is, 

164 


CHRISTIANITY  IN   WAR-TIME 

"Watch,  therefore:  for  ye  know  not  what  hour 
your  Lord  cometh."  The  essential  is  that  the 
gospel  shall  be  preached,  and  that  the  individual 
remain  faithful. 

Whenever  it  is  a  question  of  the  nature  of 
the  "kingdom,"  there  is  abundant  contrast 
with  the  kingdoms  of  this  world.  Thus  "Jesus 
answered,  My  kingdom  is  not  of  this  world;  if 
my  kingdom  were  of  this  world,  then  would  my 
servants  fight,  that  I  should  not  be  delivered  to 
the  Jews. "  Here  it  is  plainly  a  question  of  the 
principles  of  the  gospel  as  a  whole.  But  when 
the  question  pertains  to  the  world  around  them, 
which  they  must  presently  meet  alone,  then 
Jesus  prepares  them  to  meet  any  contingency 
— always  in  the  right  spirit.  They,  indeed,  who 
take  the  sword  in  accordance  with  the  old  law, 
"a  blow  for  a  blow,"  must  indeed  "perish 
with  it,"  perish  "by  it."  Thus  on  the  external 
level  there  is  no  end  to  warfare  met  as  such  in 
the  old  spirit.  Indeed,  the  external  world  was 
still  to  be  so  much  a  scene  of  strife  that  the 
disciples  were  to  be  delivered  up  "to  be  afflict- 
ed," even  killed.  It  is  once  for  all  a  question 
of  the  divine  purpose  to  be  fulfilled  even  in  a 
world  where  war  is  likely  to  prevail. 

Plainly,  everything  depends  upon  the  interior 

155 


THE   VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

motives  as  disclosed  in  the  sermon  on  the 
mount,  the  singleness  of  heart  or  will  which 
prepares  the  disciple  to  be  true  to  divine  guid- 
ance, whatever  the  contingency.  Each  of  us 
who  would  be  true  Christians  must  know  the 
foes  of  his  own  household,  the  impulses  likely  to 
arise,  the  old  habits  to  be  overcome,  the  temp- 
tations that  may  break  through  in  disguise. 
Each  must  know  what  kinds  of  enemies  to  fear 
in  the  given  age  of  the  world.  We  must  remem- 
ber how  customs  and  conditions  change  with 
the  passage  of  time.  There  is  but  one  road  to 
victory:  no  enemy  should  be  resisted  on  his 
own  level  merely,  one  should  not  resist  in  kind; 
but  one  should  open  the  heart  in  earnest  faith 
to  the  heavenly  love  which  quickens  the  higher 
motive  and  to  the  heavenly  wisdom  which  dis- 
closes the  proper  mode  of  expression.  There 
will  then  be  opportunities  for  adaptation  to  the 
given  conditions,  the  need,  the  instance,  the 
person.  The  means  employed  will  depend 
upon  the  conditions  to  be  met. 

Very  much  depends,  also,  upon  the  point  we 
have  reached  in  attaining  the  higher  resistance, 
in  contrast  with  the  passive  resistance  by  which 
the  gospel  has  been  misjudged.  To  practice  the 
old  resistance  is  to  try  to  do  things  in  our  own 

156 


CHRISTIANITY   IN   WAR-TIME 

might.  In  so  far  as  we  have  permitted  the 
Holy  Spirit  to  resist  the  evil  within  us,  we  are 
prepared  to  practise  the  gospel  in  a  way  that 
is  really  worth  while.  We  will  then  refrain 
from  giving  blow  for  blow  not  merely  because 
we  have  learned  to  love  our  enemies,  and  give 
thanks  when  despitefully  used,  but  because  we 
know  there  is  a  power  working  through  us 
that  can  fight  and  win  as  we  never  could.  The 
Christian  consciousness  must  become  a  power 
before  the  Christian  conduct  shall  be  a  fact. 
We  in  vain  begin  the  other  way  around — that 
is,  by  merely  refraining,  by  passively  yielding, 
by  doing  nothing  whatever  in  return. 

We  begin  truly  to  attain  this  Christian  con- 
sciousness when  we  realize  that  there  is  great 
virtue  in  honesty,  in  frankness,  sincerity,  for- 
giveness, and  charity:  greater  power  than  in 
their  opposites.  The  fight  will  begin  when  we 
try  to  live  by  our  faith  in  a  world  where  the 
opposites  are  rampant.  And  a  fight  it  will  be. 
The  Christian  must  fight  "the  good  fight,"  as 
*'a  soldier  of  Jesus  Christ."  The  Christian 
consciousness  will  lead  to  righteous  conduct  in 
so  far  as  one  is  constant,  with  singleness  of  eye, 
with  obedience  toward  one  Master,  all  former 
masters  having  been  renounced.     To  the  degree 

157 


THE  VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

that  this  integrity  reigns  within  the  heart,  it 
will  become  manifest  in  social  relationships. 
Wlien  two  or  three  are  gathered  together  in 
that  spirit,  there  the  Father  will  be  in  the 
midst  of  them.  In  so  far  as  whole  groups  of 
men  assemble  in  that  spirit,  power  will  grow 
from  more  to  more. 

When  we  have  in  some  measure  overcome  the 
impulse  to  be  resentful,  to  return  argument  for 
argument,  or  otherwise  give  like  for  like,  we  are 
ready  to  learn  anew  the  difficult  lesson  of 
adaptation  to  the  world.  This  is  the  real  test 
of  Christian  faith.  For  the  art  of  adaptation 
cannot  be  given  as  an  assemblage  of  rules  for 
all  to  use  alike.  We  differ  in  type  of  thought, 
in  mode  of  life,  in  spiritual  gifts,  in  wisdom,  in 
vocation,  in  a  hundred  ways.  Each  man  and 
woman  faces  conditions  which  each  must  medi- 
tate upon,  seeking  the  inward  light  that  bears 
on  the  occasion  in  earnest  prayer,  asking  to  be 
led  to  do  what  is  right,  even  if  it  conflict  with 
theories  and  expectations.  One  cannot  impose 
a  condition  on  the  Holy  Spirit.  One  cannot 
tell  in  advance  how  one  may  be  led  to  act  either 
in  times  of  peace  or  in  war-time.  No  one  can 
foretell  all  contingencies.  No  one  can  tell  when 
the  last  day  for  the  employment  of  external 

158 


CHRISTIANITY  IN   WAR-TIME 

force  shall  come.  The  only  standard  of  con- 
sistency is  interior  and  spiritual.  One  must 
expect  to  proceed  differently  on  different  occa- 
sions. The  gospel  does  not  pretend  to  be  pre- 
scriptive for  all  those  occasions.  What  is  clear 
is  that  preparedness  of  spirit  is  of  supreme  im- 
portance. What  is  clear  is  that  if  we  would 
follow  the  Master  we  must  have  one  supreme 
purpose  in  life,  awaiting  the  fullness  of  time  for 
its  realization,  faithful  at  each  step  along  the 
way. 

To  be  sure,  those  of  us  who  have  in  some 
measure  dedicated  ourselves  to  the  things  of 
the  spirit  have  good  reason  to  expect  develop- 
ments accordingly.  We  go  forth  primarily  as 
believers  in  the  inner  life  and  the  spiritual 
world.  We  are  trying  to  teach  certain  great 
spiritual  truths.  We  are  trying  to  live  accord- 
ing to  the  divine  love  and  wisdom.  First 
and  last  we  look  for  manifestations  of  power 
from  within.  On  each  occasion  we  turn  for 
light  to  the  same  invisible  source.  Manj^  of  us 
may  pass  through  a  whole  lifetime  without 
being  called  upon  to  use  vigorous  physical  force 
or  to  take  up  arms.  But  there  are  various 
occasions  when  the  use  of  force  is  called  for, 
and  we  employ  disciplined  men  to  be  ready  for 

159 


THE  VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

these  emergencies.  The  time  has  far  passed 
when  each  householder  must  bear  arms  to 
defend  his  own  home.  We  cannot  dispense 
with  the  poHce  force  or  the  law-courts  and 
prisons  until  we  find  a  better  way  that  will 
surely  and  invariably  work.  We  cannot  dis- 
pense with  armaments  and  navies  until  we  have 
mastered  every  contingency,  such  contingen- 
cies as  the  great  war  has  disclosed  in  amazing 
number,  ta  the  mortification  of  the  world.  The 
insane  ruler  across  the  seas  may  require  force- 
ful measures  as  unmistakably  as  the  violently 
insane  person  upon  the  neighboring  street. 
What  exists  in  the  world  and  is  rampant  must 
be  reckoned  with,  whether  we  like  it  and  ap- 
prove of  it  or  not.  It  is  not  by  any  means  a 
question  of  what  we  prefer,  but  of  what  exists 
and  must  be  met  face  to  face.  Even  in  the 
territory  of  the  Christ,  the  false  prophet  lurks 
in  disguise.  The  disciple  must  be  warned  as 
well  as  instructed. 

There  is  plainly  a  great  difference  between 
providing  a  sword  out  of  fear  lest  an  enemy 
assail  us  when  the  divine  guidance  has  pre- 
sumably failed,  and  providing  a  sword  in  readi- 
ness to  do  what  we  are  inwardly  led  to  do 
should  occasion  for   its  use  ever  arise.     If  we 

160 


CHRISTIANITY  IN  WAR-TIME 

desert  the  spiritual  principle  and  prepare  to 
meet  the  foe  as  mere  foe,  then  indeed  we  relapse 
to  the  old  Hebraic  custom,  and  we  may  expect 
to  suffer  accordingly.  But  granted  the  right 
motive,  we  may  be  ready  to  do  our  part  in  the 
given  social  order.  Woe  unto  him  who  acts 
the  part  of  Judas.  Sad  indeed  is  it  that  such 
exist.  But  the  opposition  is  always  challenged 
to  do  its  utmost  when  we  take  our  stand  in 
favor  of  the  higher  resistance. 

Whenever  the  time  comes  to  use  force,  there- 
fore, employ  it  not  in  bitterness,  not  in  hatred 
or  anger,  but  in  a  spirit  of  love  and  forgiveness. 
Use  physical  instruments  as  means;  do  not  allow 
them  to  use  you.  Although  you  may  never 
be  called  on  to  use  force,  remember  that  some 
men  must  for  a  large  part  of  a  lifetime  serve 
your  country  as  bearers  of  arms,  subject  at  any 
hour  to  the  call  of  city,  State,  or  nation.  We 
cannot  separate  ourselves  from  these,  as  if  we 
were  favored  to  live  apart  in  superior  freedom. 
War  reminds  us  that  the  whole  world  is  one, 
that  all  suffer  together  and  all  must  work  togeth- 
er to  bring  human  suffering  to  an  end.  No  one 
is  able  to  cast  the  first  stone.  While  war  exists 
anywhere  on  the  face  of  the  earth  we  are 
in  a  measure  concerned.     Nor  can  permanent 

161 


THE  VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

peace   come    without   the  work   and    support 
of  alL 

It  is  plain,  then,  that  the  work  of  the  gospel 
has  not  begun  to  be  complete  in  our  lives  until 
we  have  learned  adaptation  to  the  world,  not 
by  imitation  of  things  said  and  done  in  another 
age,  but  by  meeting  any  condition  that  may 
confront  us  in  the  present  as  an  opportunity 
for  faithfulness  to  what  we  believe.  For  the 
real  power  lies  in  expression,  in  carrying  forth 
into  that  which  is  most  external  and  social 
what  we  believe  and  feel  within. 

It  is  of  no  avail  to  protest  that  the  gospel  of 
peace  is  not  workable  in  this  mundane  sphere 
where  one  must  guard  one's  property,  with  no 
time  to  go  the  second  mile.  The  gospel  proves 
universally  applicable  when  we  see  in  what 
sense  its  teachings  apply.  The  true  Christian 
is  not  imitative.  He  makes  his  own  application 
to  meet  the  given  case.  He  sees  that  the  pre- 
cepts of  the  sermon  on  the  mount  were  not 
meant  as  external  rules  for  all  occasions,  as  if 
one  were  always  to  wait  in  passivity  for  the 
thief  to  break  through  and  steal.  He  sees  that 
the  gospel  appeals  both  to  the  head  and  the 
heart,  hence  that  he  must  use  his  intelligence 
in  order  to  realize  the  gospel  of  peace.     This 

162 


CHRISTIANITY  IN  WAR-TIME 

adaptability  also  involves  the  lessons  of  his- 
tory. For  the  conditions  have  changed  again 
and  again  since  the  dawn  of  the  Christian  era. 
Deeds  once  widely  approved  are  now  condemned 
as  wrong.  The  process  must  go  on  until  every 
thought  and  deed  not  in  accord  with  brotherly 
love  shall  be  called  in  question.  The  child  of 
a  given  age,  each  Christian  is  primarily  con- 
cerned with  the  conduct  called  in  question  in 
his  age. 

It  is  equally  plain  that  the  Christian  truth 
is  not  neutral,  but  calls  for  keen  discrimination 
concerning  the  beliefs  just  now  uppermost  in 
the  world.  "He  that  is  not  with  me  is  against 
me;  and  he  that  gathereth  not  with  me  scatter- 
eth  abroad."  If  there  be  undue  hesitation 
the  mandatory  word  is,  "How  long  halt  ye 
between  two  opinions?  If  the  Lord  be  God, 
follow  him:  but  if  Baal,  then  follow  him." 
The  appeal  is  directly  to  the  moral  will  of  the 
individual.  Christian  love  is  not  lukewarm 
and  unproductive:  it  goes  forth  with  efficiency 
in  a  definite  way,  and  no  one  who  is  deeply 
touched  by  it  can  serve  two  masters.  Christian 
peace  when  it  comes  will  not  be  neutral,  but 
will  be  founded  on  a  well-organized  state  in 
which  justice  shall  prevail.     All  forces  making 

163 


THE  VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

for  this  peace  operate  according  to  the  divine 
order.  In  that  order  nothing  comes  before  its 
time.  To  join  in  the  struggle  for  peace  we  must 
begin  far  enough  back  to  seek  the  kingdom  of 
righteousness  to  which  peace  among  other  re- 
sults shall  be  added  when  the  conditions  are 
favorable. 

Jesus  apparently  never  seized  a  weapon,  nev- 
er injured  any  one,  never  employed  vigorous 
external  force.  Yet  the  Master  vigorously 
condemned  and  opposed  evil.  He  was  a  man 
of  power.  He  employed  the  gentler  virtues 
with  great  emphasis.  His  death  on  the  cross 
was  a  positive  affirmation  of  life.  No  one  can 
be  a  true  disciple  who  does  not,  in  taking  up 
the  cross  to  follow,  valiantly  stand  by  the  spir- 
itual law,  whatever  may  happen.  There  can 
be  no  compromise  here.  Means  can  never  be 
put  above  ends,  or  even  made  equal  with  them. 
Jesus  emphatically  taught  that  all  men  are 
brothers  and  should  be  lived  with  as  brothers. 
If  we  do  not  live  with  them  as  brothers,  there 
may  be  war,  and  if  war  then  comes  it  will  be 
the  fulfilment  of  our  own  conduct.  Hence  to  be 
a  valiant  follower  we  must  make  certain  that 
we  have  begun  far  enough  back  to  seek  justice, 
to  live  by  love,  to  seek  means  that  secure  the 

164 


CHRISTIANITY  IN  WAR-TIME 

end.  If  we  cannot  yet  be  men  of  power  in 
the  full  practice  of  the  higher  resistance,  we 
can  at  least  be  advancing  steadily  toward  such 
fidelity. 

The  illuminating  clue  for  all  occasions  comes 
in  sight,  then,  when  we  see  that  the  gospel 
always  bids  man  choose  the  higher  or  greater 
good.  That  is  to  say,  Christianity  always 
applies  primarily  to  the  spiritual  life  (inner, 
social,  and  eternal),  its  precepts  relate  to  the 
inward  light  or  divine  guidance  appealing  to 
the  conscience  of  the  individual;  and  yet  its 
precepts  are  laid  down  with  a  view  to  progress 
amid  changing  conditions.  The  gospel  bids 
man  choose  the  higher  good  in  the  light  of 
adaptation  to  the  events,  conditions,  needs, 
which  differ  as  time  passes.  It  insists  on  the 
prime  essentials,  on  love,  on  justice,  brother- 
hood, service,  under  any  and  all  conditions. 
It  leaves  the  rest  to  the  individual  and  to  the 
social  group  in  the  given  age.  It  does  not  say, 
*'Make  peace  the  aim  and  goal  of  all  your 
endeavors.'*  It  does  not  reiterate  ancient  pro- 
hibitions or  add  to  them.  It  appeals  to  the 
heart  of  man  to  live  the  life,  to  attain  the  ful- 
ness of  social  life.     Its  great   commandments 

are  love  to  God  and  man. 
12  165 


THE  VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

The  question  therefore  resolves  itself  into 
the  thought  and  will  of  the  individual  as  the 
central  problem  of  life.  Are  you  morally  pre- 
pared, constant,  firm?  Are  you  endeavoring 
to  live  by  one  law,  serve  one  Master?  Are  you 
seeking  the  same  inner  principles  in  every  con- 
tingency, always  trying  to  discern  the  higher 
or  greater  good,  even  though  your  external 
conduct  be  inconsistent?  Are  you  making 
ready  to  be  led  still  farther  along  life's  spiritual 
pathway,  through  earnest  thought  and  prayer, 
through  quest  for  the  inward  light  which  applies 
to  every  occasion?  Are  you  willing  to  break 
with  tradition  and  custom  for  the  sake  of  fol- 
lowing where  the  Holy  Spirit  leads? 

If  so  you  have  ceased  to  be  a  law  unto  your- 
self in  the  sense  of  sheer  individualism — that  is, 
the  insistence  on  a  given  reform  which  you 
almost  command  God  to  make  here  and  now. 
You  are  willing  that  even  war  should  be  stopped 
in  God's  own  time,  whatever  your  conviction 
that  He  ought  to  stop  it  now.  You  constantly 
bear  in  mind  that  you  belong  to  "the  vine  and 
the  branches,"  and  that  the  condition  of  all 
mankind  must  be  taken  into  account.  Conse- 
quently, you  test  all  your  affiliations  and  rela- 
tionships afresh  to  see  whether  you  are  in  the 

166 


CHRISTIANITY  IN  WAR-TIME 

right  attitude,  working  with  the  right  group,  in 
adaptation  to  the  changing  conditions  of  the 
day.  If  war  find  you  indifferent  or  inefficient, 
lacking  in  patriotism,  in  zeal  for  service  where 
one  of  your  type  can  serve  best,  then  see  to  it 
that  you  come  out  of  yourself  into  the  active 
world  around  you,  with  its  imperative  needs. 
If  a  "conscientious  objector,"  then  find  some 
other  way  to  serve,  among  the  wounded  or  the 
poor,  in  farm  or  factory,  with  head  or  hand;  do 
not  under  any  conditions  stand  apart.  We  are 
not  all  called  upon  to  serve  alike.  But  we  are 
all  summoned  to  service. 

No  one,  indeed,  can  serve  two  kingdoms  in 
equal  measure.  We  are  all  called  to  live  for 
the  spiritual  kingdom  first,  last,  always.  It  is 
this  standard  which  enables  us  to  choose  the 
higher  good,  the  one  that  pertains  to  man's 
real  welfare  in  the  long  run.  Yet  by  the  same 
law  we  dwell  in  the  mundane  kingdom  as  the 
testing-ground  of  the  soul.  The  mundane  is 
ever  a  sign  and  symbol  of  the  heavenly.  Every- 
thing depends  on  our  ability  to  read  the  signs 
so  as  to  look  beneath  the  surface  to  the  power 
of  God  transforming  even  the  events  of  war 
into  instruments  of  peace.  Thus  to  discern 
the  signs  of  the  times  is  to  live  in  the  thought 

167 


THE  VICTORIOUS   FAITH 

of  causes  in  contrast  with  allegiance  to  external 
conditions,  hence  to  bear  in  mind  the  end  which 
is  "not  yet."  Thus  to  see  and  think  is  to  be 
willing  that  all  things  shall  be  fulfilled  in  the 
divine  way,  and  to  be  eager  to  serve  in  co-opera- 
tive responsiveness  to  the  inward  light. 

For  the  moment  this  interpretation  of  the 
gospel  seems  to  weaken  it,  for  when  we  declare 
unqualifiedly  that  Christianity  is  opposed  to 
war  and  then  adopt  an  active  program  against 
war  from  which  we  never  falter,  we  seem  to  be 
exceedingly  strong  Christians.  No  doubt  some 
partisans  of  this  position  would  defend  the 
clergyman  who  was  burned  in  eflSgy  after  our 
country  declared  war  on  Germany,  because  he 
preached  against  the  President  and  the  nation; 
also  the  one  who  resigned  because  his  parishion- 
ers raised  the  Stars  and  Stripes  behind  the  pul- 
pit. That  is  to  say,  opposition  to  war  would  be 
the  equivalent  of  Christianity.  But  the  original 
gospel  was  more  profound  and  far-reaching  than 
that.  It  was  opposed  not  alone  to  war  with 
swords,  but  to  all  warfare  of  evil  against  evil, 
and  the  whole  mode  of  social  life  out  of  which 
all  sins  and  evils  whatsoever  spring.  To  be  a 
Christian  is  to  undergo  a  radical  regeneration 
applying  to  the  entire  life,   inner  and  outer, 

108 


CHRISTIANITY   IN   WAR-TIME 

This  is  the  strong  gospel.  But  just  because 
this  is  a  gospel  of  power,  one  that  brings  not 
peace  on  earth,  but  disruption,  the  Master  gave 
instruction  with  reference  to  the  age-long  proc- 
ess along  life's  spiritual  highway.  He  did  not 
teach  adaptation  to  the  world  as  a  compromise, 
but  on  principle.  He  was  strong  beyond  all 
precedent  when  he  proceeded  differently  on 
various  occasions.  Thus  to  be  strong  is  to 
have  a  purpose  and  abide  by  it  through  every 
eventuality,  along  "the  way  of  the  cross." 
Thus  to  be  strong  is  to  contemplate  very  much 
more  than  the  overcoming  of  war  as  an  external 
affair.  It  means  nothing  less  than  the  promul- 
gation and  adoption  of  a  complete  spiritual 
equivalent  for  the  self-loves  and  selfishness  of 
man,  all  the  organized  greeds,  the  schemes  for 
oppression,  and  every  other  device  that  impedes 
the  coming  of  the  kingdom.  It  cannot  special- 
ize in  an  attack  upon  one  evil,  because  it  deals, 
above  all,  with  the  central  sources  of  all  evil 
whatsoever. 

We  conclude,  therefore,  that  the  Christian 
in  war-time  should  return  to  the  original  gospel 
in  its  fullness,  noting  that  it  is  a  program  for 
radical  social  reform.  To  see  one's  duty  in 
relation  to  patriotism  and  the  other  issues  of  the 

169 


THE  VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

hour  is  to  realize  first  of  all  that  the  gospel 
came  to  bring  justice  to  all  men  and  all  nations, 
hence  is  very  fundamental  indeed.  The  Chris- 
tian is  thus  a  citizen  of  the  city  of  God  first,  a 
lover  of  all  mankind.  But  he  is  such  a  lover 
through  the  conditions  which  the  era  at  hand 
imposes,  through  the  constitution  and  under 
the  flag  of  the  country  in  which  he  lives.  He 
keeps  close  to  the  ground,  so  to  speak.  He 
serves  as  he  best  may  serve  where  he  is,  gifted 
as  he  is,  ever  praying  to  do  not  his  own  will, 
but  the  Father's  will.  He  is  a  lover  of  peace. 
He  loves  and  tries  to  live  by  the  gentler  virtues. 
His  model  is  ever  "the  man  of  sorrows  and  ac- 
quainted with  grief. "  Meanwhile,  he  is  ready 
to  obey  any  summons  to  stand  more  valiantly 
by  the  gospel,  even  though  to  defend  Christian- 
ity as  applying  to  the  total  human  problem 
means  that  one  shall  be  despised  and  perse- 
cuted. Well  may  he  pray  to  know  the  Master 
as  the  living  Lord  to-day,  the  actually  present 
Christ  with  us  all.  For  only  through  the  gospel 
disclosed  anew  as  vitally  true  to-day  shall  one 
realize  its  import  for  peace  and  war. 


VIII 

THE   PATHWAY    OF   FAITH 

PROBABLY  we  all  agree  that  life  is  some 
kind  of  process  for  the  betterment  of  man. 
The  unsettled  questions  pertain  to  the  motives 
worthy  of  acceptance  and  the  method  to  be 
pursued.  In  our  day  motives  are  undergoing 
reconsideration  in  terms  of  "the  social  touch." 
The  method  for  human  betterment  will  natural- 
ly take  its  clue  from  this  social  spirit.  There 
is  no  longer  an  exclusive  road  to  salvation.  We 
are  not  now  judging  men  by  their  origins, 
however  humble.  We  bear  in  mind  the  hin- 
drances due  to  heredity  and  environment,  and 
the  limitations  of  the  whole  social  order.  We 
are  not  even  judging  men  by  their  earthly 
choices.  Instead,  we  are  looking  forward  to 
estimates  with  reference  to  attainments  along 
the  way,  in  the  light  of  values,  truths,  service. 
Wliat  we   wish  to  have  said  about  us  is  that 

171 


THE  VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

one  and  all  we  were  actuated  by  "the  high 
faitli  that  failed  not  by  the  way." 

To  bring  together  the  main  considerations 
of  the  foregoing  chapters,  let  us  pass  in  review 
some  of  the  customary  standards,  and  consider 
their  bearings  on  the  pathway  of  the  soul. 
This  review  will  help  us  to  realize  how  far  our 
age  has  traveled  from  the  doctrines  once 
maintained. 

It  used  to  be  said,  for  example,  that  life  is 
for  "discipline."  We  rejected  this  interpre- 
tation because  it  disparaged  the  present  life 
with  its  innocent  pleasures  in  favor  of  a  future 
abode  of  bliss,  and  because  it  meant  dependence 
on  theologic  authority  as  the  guardian  of  the 
disciplines.  We  came  to  see  that  experience 
would  yield  training  enough  without  assistance 
on  our  part.  With  the  passing  of  this  doctrine 
there  went  pessimism  in  some  of  its  forms, 
asceticism,  Puritanism  with  its  austerities,  and 
many  another  doctrine.  Life  ceased  to  be  a 
"grind"  in  the  sense  of  the  inevitable.  A 
grind  it  still  is  for  many,  but  for  reasons  which 
we  hope  to  get  to  the  bottom  of  in  these  days 
when  the  conditions  of  labor  are  improving, 
when  so  many  are  trying  to  uplift  the  poor. 

With   the   light-hearted   pleasure-seeker   life 

172 


THE  PATHWAY  OF  FAITH 

has  always  been  a  field  of  opportunity  in  which 
to  eat,  dance,  and  make  merry  while  there  is 
yet  time.  These  we  will  long  have  with  us. 
But  the  more  serious  contention  that  pleasure 
is  the  goal  of  life  probably  has  few  advocates. 
As  an  ethical  motive  we  discarded  this  view 
because  we  found  it  impossible  to  attain  pleas- 
ure when  pursued  as  an  end  by  itself.  Then, 
too,  it  failed  to  do  justice  to  the  many  other 
interests  of  this  life.  We  now  disavow  the 
pessimism  which  reacts  against  life  because 
happiness  apparently  cannot  be  found.  We 
have  not  yet  shown  to  our  satisfaction  how 
splendid  life  can  be  made.  Some  day  we  hope 
to  rise  above  fleshly  bondages  and  interpret 
life  on  the  ground  that  it  means  very  much  more 
than  eating  and  drinking,  dancing  and  making 
merry. 

The  view  that  life  Is  for  sacrifice  has  a  far 
deeper  hold  on  the  world.  In  war-time  we 
see  men  and  women  doing  wonderful  deeds  and 
undergoing  every  sort  of  sacrifice  in  behalf  of 
the  sorrowing  and  suffering  on  the  battle-field 
and  at  home.  Even  the  idlers  and  luxuriating 
rich  are  willing  to  do  their  part.  War  in  itself 
is  one  huge  sacrifice,  and  it  brings  great  moral 
compensations.     Reforms  are  made  which  we 

173 


THE  VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

scarcely  dared  hope  for  in  times  of  peace. 
The  way  of  the  cross  seems  still  to  be  the  great 
highway  to  heaven.  Theoretically  the  same 
ends  might  be  attained  without  the  misery,  the 
sorrow,  and  the  bloodshed;  but  practically  we 
do  not  yet  appear  to  have  found  the  way. 
Sacrifice  is  at  least  one  of  the  great  incentives. 
All  that  we  now  reject  is  the  negative,  ascetic,  or 
self-inflicted  sacrifice  which  tends  to  weaken 
our  Christian  faith.  Sacrifice  to  be  strong  must 
spring  from  positive  devotion  to  a  worthy 
cause.  It  should  be  known  for  what  it  accom- 
plishes rather  than  for  what  it  foregoes.  Sacri- 
fice can  hardly  be  called  our  voluntarily  chosen 

end. 

We  need  not  dwell  on  the  idea  that  "life  is  a 
game,"  possibly  "worth  the  candle,"  possibly 
not.  It  is  in  some  respects  a  game  in  the  com- 
mercial world.  Yet  mere  absorption  in  busi- 
ness cannot  even  by  implication  be  taken  as  the 
equivalent  of  a  thoughtful  view  of  life.  These 
men  are  struggling  for  commercial  supremacy 
or  mayhap  for  mere  existence  in  the  commercial 
world,  but  they  would  talk  dififerently  if  they 
were  seriously  regarding  life  as  a  whole.  Life 
is  rapidly  ceasing  to  be  a  game  for  kings  to  play 
at,  while  the  masses  do  the  work  and  make  war. 

174 


THE  PATHWAY  OF  FAITH 

It  may  still  be  an  amusement  for  a  while  for  the 
wealthy  and  the  luxuriating  idlers,  but  their 
day  will  come. 

Life  has  plainly  ceased  to  be  a  war-game. 
It  has  lost  all  the  fascinations  of  the  phmied 
and    armored    knight     of     the    middle    ages. 
What  it  has  been  since  1914  we  learn  in  an  inti- 
mate sort  of  way  from  H.  G.  Wells  in  the  record 
of  his  tour  along  the  western  front  as  recorded 
in  Italy,  France  and  England  at  War.     It  Is  in- 
teresting to  find  Mr.  Wells  declaring  that  the 
Allies  do  not  appear  to  be  making  war,  but 
resisting  it.     That  is,  contrary  to  what  all  the 
pacifists  have  been  telling  us,  he  learns  that 
warfare    does    not    necessarily    mean    infernal 
passions   let   loose.     With    the   Allies    it   is   a 
steady,  persistent  duty,  that  the   world   may 
have  abiding  peace.     "  We  fight  not  a  national 
sin,"   he  says,   "but  a  national  insanity,"  "a 
nation  run  amuck."    That  is,  there  is  "a  Thing 
called  Germany"  which  menaces  the  integrity 
of  the  nations  and  must  be  put  out  of  commis- 
sion.    The  grim  business  is  undertaken  not  out 
of  enthusiasm  for  war  as  such,  but  simply  be- 
cause the  work  at  hand  must  be  done.     "Both 
France    and    Great   Britain    have   a   sense   of 
righteousness  in  this  war  as  no  nation,  no  people, 

175 


THE  VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

has  ever  felt  in  war  before. "  The  Itahans,  too, 
joined  with  "intelHgent  generosity"  when  the 
wise  time  came. 

To  be  sure,  Mr.  Wells  sees  the  darker  side, 
and  he  brings  war's  realities  before  the  reader's 
mind  with  extreme  vividness.  He  tells  us  that 
he  "never  imagined  a  quarter  of  its  waste,  its 
boredom,  its  futility,  its  desolation.  It  is 
merely  a  destructive  and  dispersive  instead 
of  a  constructive  and  accumulative  industrial- 
ism." Yet  he  sees  no  reason  for  giving  it  up 
half  done.  "It  is  the  plain  duty  of  every  man 
to  give  his  life  and  all  that  he  has  if  by  so  doing 
he  may  help  to  end  it."  The  crucial  matter 
is  that  your  revolt  against  it  will  be  quite  un- 
productive "unless  you  are  thinking  about  its 
nature  and  causes  so  thoroughly  that  you  will 
presently  be  able  to  take  hold  of  it  and  control 
it  and  end  it."  And  Mr.  Wells  sees  but  one 
resource  sure  to  avail  in  the  long  run.  The 
time  draws  near  when  mankind  will  awake  and 
there  shall  be  no  king,  no  emperor,  "nor  leader 
but  the  one  God  of  mankind. "  Only  through  a 
simplification  of  religion  to  its  fundamental 
idea,  "to  a  world-wide  realization  of  God  as 
king  of  the  heart  and  of  all  mankind,  setting 
aside  monarchy  and  national  egotism  altogether, 

176 


THE   PATHWAY  OF  FAITH 

can  mankind  come  to  any  certain  happiness 
and  security." 

Surely,  here  is  the  victorious  faith,  the  faith 
of  the  man  who,  seeing  things  as  they  are  in  the 
trenches,  in  the  hospitals,  on  the  field  of  battle, 
nevertheless  confidently  says  that  he  finds  "a 
hundred  little  indications  to  reassure"  him 
"that  God  comes."  Even  those,  he  thinks, 
"who  have  neither  the  imagination  nor  the 
faith  to  apprehend  God  as  a  reality  will.  .  . 
realize  presently  that  the  kingdom  of  God  over 
a  world-wide  system  of  republican  states  is  the 
only  possible  formula  under  which  we  may  hope 
to  unify  and  save  mankind."  He  finds  social 
clues  to  the  kingdom,  too.  It  is  not  a  war  of 
the  occasional  hero,  but  of  inniunerable  inci- 
dental heroes.  The  war  "has  brought  home  to 
every  one  the  supremacy  of  the  public  need  over 
every  sort  of  individual  claim."  There  are 
many  social  changes  in  progress.  "In  this  war 
we  are  working  things  out  instead  of  thinking 
them  out,  and  these  enormous  changes  are  still 
but  imperfectly  apprehended."  The  moral 
for  us  all  is  that  "the  immense  sorrows  at  home 
in  every  European  country  and  the  vast  bore- 
dom of  the  combatants"  will  really  produce 
very  little  effective  remedial  action  at  all  unless 

177 


THE  VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

you  and  I  "get  much  more  thoroughly  to  work 
upon  the  thinking-out  process. " 

Much  thought  will  still  be  required  to  rid 
ourselves  of  the  assumption  customarily  made 
by  many  of  us,  namely,  that  all  moral  matters 
operate  by  a  kind  of  mechanical  or  mathemati- 
cal rule,  as  if  there  were  an  exact  reaction  in  kind 
for  every  crime.  Even  as  late  as  1915  it  was 
said  that  the  European  nations  were  being  pun- 
ished on  this  basis.  Thus  the  terrible  fate  suf- 
fered by  Belgium  was  said  to  be  a  righteous 
"punishment"  meted  out  upon  the  nation 
because  of  the  atrocities  committed  by  King 
Leopold  in  Africa.  Consider  what  an  enormous 
penalty  will  some  time  be  exacted  of  Germany 
if  this  be  the  true  law.  The  argument  is  ab- 
surd on  the  face  of  it.  There  is  no  comparison 
between  the  wrongs  put  upon  Belgium — for 
the  most  part  innocent  and  noble — and  those 
suffered  in  the  Congo.  Germany  will  suffer, 
not  by  being  invaded  and  tortured  precisely  as 
Prussia  "punished"  Belgium,  but  in  some  other 
way.  For  the  moral  law  is  not  mechanical,  but 
righteous,  not  quantitative,  but  qualitative. 
We  are  steadily  rejecting  the  mechanical  philos- 
ophy in  all  its  forms.  Life  is  not  subject  to  a 
mere  law  of  attraction.     Man  is  not  a  mere 

178 


THE  PATHWAY  OF  FAITH 

unit,  like  an  atom  or  electron.  A  nation  is  a 
union  of  differing  souls,  each  with  needs,  oppor- 
tunities, aspirations.  When  justice  comes  at 
last  it  will  give  each  man  his  due  according  to 
real  worth,  not  by  mere  reaction. 

The  true  basis  of  hope  or  optimism  is  not  the 
assumption  that  "what  is  for  us  will  gravitate 
to  us,"  sooner  or  later;  that  "our  own"  will 
come  to  us  somehow,  some  time,  whatever  we 
do.  There  is,  of  course,  a  truth  in  this  idea. 
Its  truth  lies  in  the  fact  that  there  is  a  large 
measure  of  correspondence  between  need  and 
supply.  But  it  remains  only  a  half-truth  unless 
duly  qualified,  and  no  view  is  so  dangerous  as  a 
half-truth.  The  correspondence  is  far  from 
complete.  It  does  not  include  all  the  burdens 
and  handicaps  of  our  inheritance,  nor  all  the 
hardships  of  our  environment.  Only  what  is 
spiritually  available,  what  is  morally  eligible, 
is  "my  own."  I  am  not  a  mere  center  of  fate- 
driven  correspondence  or  attraction.  I  am  a 
free  moral  being,  and  my  will  is  of  real  avail. 
By  no  means  should  I  judge  simply  by  the 
events  of  experience  which  "come"  to  me. 
By  no  means  ought  I  to  judge  merely  by  what  I 
feel,  by  what  demands  expression.  What  I 
need   to  know  is  not  alone  what   simply  ex- 

179 


THE  VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

ists,  but  what  is  worthy  oj  choice  and  develop- 
ment. 

The  inner  life,  we  have  seen,  is  no  longer 
an  exclusive  basis  for  judgment.  This  is  the 
age  of  "the  social  touch,"  the  new  sympathy, 
the  larger  charity.  What  we  need,  to  be  sure, 
is  to  acquire  the  psychological  viewpoint,  to 
know  the  mind  as  it  is,  with  all  its  impulses  and 
passions.  We  need  to  look  beneath  war  and 
every  other  social  expression  to  learn  the  hidden 
processes  of  nations.  We  need  to  examine 
neutrality,  non-resistance,  and  every  other  vital 
issue  in  the  light  of  its  mental  origin  and  in- 
fluence. But  all  this  is  by  way  of  coming  to 
judgment,  that  we  may  know  without  the 
slightest  misconception  to  what  extent  society 
really  has  approached  the  age  of  reason.  The 
end  is  not  rest  or  poise  in  the  inner  life,  but  the 
providing  of  an  adequate  substitute  for  all  lower 
motives,  a  complete  "moral  equivalent  for 
war."  The  end  is  not  "the  tranquilizing  plati- 
tude," not  inner  peace  at  any  price;  it  is  a 
higher  resistance  which  shall  enlist  all  our 
powers  and  become  socially  efficient. 

Our  lesson  will  be  only  half  learned  unless  we 
make  a  careful  study  of  all  the  mental  powers 
lying  below  the  level  of  reason  and  likely  to 

180 


THE  PATHWAY  OF  FAITH 

break  forth  into  action.  We  need  a  full  moral 
equivalent  which  will  enlist  the  emotions,  the 
intellect,  and  the  will  When  we  are  stirred, 
there  is  need  of  emotional  expression  on  a 
higher  level.  When  we  reflect,  we  need  some 
constructive  plan  for  the  expression  of  our  ideas. 
The  will  is  directive  both  in  relation  to  the 
emotions  and  in  behalf  of  the  intellect,  and  it 
is  the  power  that  makes  for  the  moral  life.  In 
the  long  run,  what  rules  our  desires  is  sure  to 
prevail,  save  so  far  as  greater  enlightenment 
intervenes  to  transmute  our  desires  into  higher 
motives.  We  may  expect  to  remain  precisely 
as  we  are  except  so  far  as  we  permit  powers 
to  work  in  us  to  lift  the  level  of  our  emotions 
and  desires.  The  situation  is  not  hopeless. 
It  abounds  in  hope.  But  it  calls  for  alertness, 
persistence.  It  calls  for  prompt  action  when- 
ever we  are  stirred,  lest  we  lose  headway  and 
sink  back  into  bondage  to  habit.  He  who  acts 
upon  the  first  occasion  that  presents  itself  is  in 
a  position  to  meet  a  greater  opportunity  next 
time,  to  win  a  greater  triumph,  and  so  win  the 
day  for  faith. 

Our  study  has  shown  what  it  means  to  be 
moral.     It  means  not  alone  to  possess  knowl- 
edge, or  to  be  in  quest  of  knowledge,  smilingly 
13  181 


THE   VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

neutral  because  wisdom  is  coming  our  way;  but 
to  have  a  working  principle  or  scale  of  values 
which  will  enable  us  to  work  for  "first  things 
first."  Our  loyalty  cannot  stop  with  mere 
"loyalty  to  loyalty."  We  cannot  always  be 
investigating,  weighing  issues,  awaiting  evi- 
dence. To  be  loyal  is  to  have  a  purpose  and 
pursue  it  to  the  neglect  of  a  thousand  other 
considerations.  To  be  moral  is  to  plunge  in, 
"dare  all,  nor  be  afraid."  Our  moral  life  must 
have  concrete  matters  to  fill  it,  practical  issues 
to  realize.  Our  love  must  not  only  be  constant, 
but  special,  with  due  regard  for  all  that  is  our 
own — our  household,  our  country,  our  church. 
Justice  is  supreme  once  for  all  over  peace. 

All  this  becomes  doubly  important  when  we 
realize  that  the  choice  of  the  higher  or  greater 
good  involves  the  idea  of  relationship  between 
the  natural  world  and  the  spiritual.  For  since 
the  latter  is  the  world  of  causes  our  moral 
adjustments  mean,  in  the  last  analysis,  adapta- 
tion to  the  divine  energies  streaming  in  from 
within  and  above.  We  are  participants  in  this 
world-process  on  the  natural  level,  not  because 
that  process  is  in  any  sense  an  end  or  value  in 
itself,  but  because  the  mundane  sphere  is  the 
testing-ground  of  the  soul.     In  this  world  we 

182 


THE  PATHWAY  OF  FAITH 

should  be  practical,  loyal,  patriotic:  he  who  does 
not  love  his  country  and  make  sacrifices  for  her 
is  little  likely  to  make  a  good  citizen  of  heaven. 
We  should  love  not  only  the  neighbor  "as  our- 
self"  but  the  nation,  too.  We  should  even 
prefer  our  country  to  self,  since  it  has  given  us 
birth,  nourishment,  and  protection.  Yet  when 
all  has  been  said  it  remains  true  that  the  natural 
is  for  the  sake  of  the  spiritual.  We  are  spirits 
even  now,  dwelling  in  the  spiritual  world.  To 
make  real  choices,  accomplish  deeds  of  true 
moment,  we  need  to  start  with  the  realization 
of  this  our  truest  selfhood. 

We  have  found  this  view  fortified  by  the  more 
recent  thought  of  God  as  the  Father  of  all  that 
is  truly  concrete  and  personal.  Since  the  whole 
movement  of  God  as  Spirit  is  from  that  which  is 
most  interior  to  the  most  external,  since  com- 
plete objectification  or  manifestation  is  the  rule, 
we  know  in  what  direction  our  faces  should  be 
turned.  We  cannot  exclude  even  the  earth- 
quake, the  flood,  or  the  war  from  His  presence. 
God  is  within  or  at  least  is  related  to  these 
events  in  the  light  of  His  providence.  His  pur- 
poses. He  is  in  war  to  purify,  through  the 
unexpected  fruition  and  the  rich  compensation. 
He  is  with  each  soul  in  its  onward  march,  ever 

183 


THE   VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

accessible    through    guidance    and    "the    still, 
small  voice. " 

An  important  result  of  all  this  study  is  the 
realization  that  any  scheme  for  education  in 
moral  equivalents  must  take  account  of  man's 
subconscious  nature  and  all  repressed  desires  or 
concealed  activities.  We  object  to  most  inter- 
pretations of  human  existence  because  they 
exclude  so  much,  advise  so  many  restraints,  put 
forward  so  many  prohibitions.  The  partisan 
of  "the  elemental"  is  right  in  part.  Life  is  to 
a  large  extent  for  expression.  We  repress  at 
our  peril,  whether  in  the  name  of  asceticism, 
disciplinary  preparation  for  heaven,  or  any  other 
religious  motive.  In  the  case  of  the  nations  we 
ignore  the  subconscious  at  our  peril.  There 
must  be  not  only  "the  open  door"  and  "the 
open  road,"  but  a  frank  policy  which  shall  put 
an  end  to  secret  diplomacy  and  international 
marriages  forever.  Let  us  put  an  end  to  inter- 
national law  too  if  by  "law"  we  mean  permis- 
sion to  use  such  devices  as  the  submarine  to 
take  advantage  of  any  enemy  behind  his  back. 
The  only  respectable  warfare  is  wholly  out  in 
the  open,  between  fighters  only,  with  never  a  mer- 
chantman sunk,  never  a  town  pillaged,  never  a 
civilian  killed.     And  when  we  have  stated  this 

184 


THE  PATHWAY  OF  FAITH 

let  us  proceed  to  show  that  any  sort  of  war 
whatever  means  the  adoption  of  unfair  advan- 
tages by  the  aggressor.  Then,  having  looked 
beneath  the  present  well-grounded  doubt  con- 
cerning the  integrity  of  treaties,  let  us  find  a 
better  way  to  avoid  trouble  than  by  any  such 
device.  We  cannot  merely  "stop  all  war," 
as  our  pacifist  friends  were  urging  before  the 
United  States  joined  in  the  fray.  We  can  go  to 
the  foundation  of  war  in  all  its  submerged 
causes,  and  then  think  out  a  full  substitute  for 
every  foot-pound  of  energy  that  is  spent  in  its 
behalf. 

Life  then  is  not  for  peace  any  more  than  for 
war,  or  any  other  given  end  alone.  Life, 
originally  for  expression,  is  later  for  conscious- 
ness, and  then  for  eternal  ends.  It  springs 
from  several  sources  or  incentives,  all  the  way 
along  the  line  from  self-love  to  the  noblest 
prompting  that  ever  quickened  a  human  breast. 
It  seeks  various  ends  truly  and  permanently 
worth  while,  and  we  may  well  forever  forego 
the  attempt  to  narrow  our  activities  down  to  a 
single  motive. 

Life  is  for  development,  and  we  its  partici- 
pants are  many-sided,  individual  and  social, 
natural  and  spiritual,  endowed  for  experience 

185 


THE  VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

and  service.  It  is  indeed  to  be  taken  seriously, 
is  no  "play,"  no  "game";  but  it  also  calls  for 
spontaneity,  freshness  of  spirit,  with  something 
like  the  expressiveness  of  childhood.  It  is  for 
beauty,  and  we  have  a  right  to  accept  beauty 
as  one  of  the  eternal  values,  to  work  for  it 
directly,  and  encourage  all  artists.  It  is  for 
truth,  and  there  is  every  reason  to  pursue  truth 
as  if  it  were  an  end  in  itself,  out  of  unbounded 
enthusiasm  and  love. 

Life  is  for  activity,  productiveness,  the  crea- 
tive spirit;  and  true  education,  true  brother- 
hood, encourage  all  to  cultivate  their  talents 
and  contribute  their  share  to  the  general  good. 
Life  is  for  co-operation,  service,  altruism;  and 
we  are  all  led  sooner  or  later  into  circumstances 
wherein  to  adjust  the  rights  of  the  individual  to 
the  rights  of  society.  Life  is  for  success,  yet 
in  several  senses  of  the  word:  in  adaptation  to 
nature,  that  we  may  enjoy  health  and  freedom; 
in  earning  a  livelihood,  that  we  may  be  practical 
and  do  our  part;  in  meeting  various  types  of 
men,  in  conquering  self,  rising  above  circum- 
stance, mastering  passion  and  temptation.  In 
short,  life  is  for  mutuality  or  service  amid 
self-realization;  hence  neither  self-sacrifice  nor 
any  other  motive  is  a  sufficient  guide  alone. 

186 


THE   PATHWAY  OF  FAITH 

Life  is  for  the  present  as  well  as  for  eternity, 
for  the  natural  and  the  spiritual,  the  human 
and  the  divine.  It  is  both  an  attainment  and 
a  preparation. 

A  strong  reason  for  believing  that  life  is  for 
several  ends  is  found  in  the  diversity  of  attitude 
we  assume,  as  a  result  of  variety  of  instincts 
and  promptings.  The  self-seeking  attitude  is 
the  most  conspicuous.  But  no  less  impressive 
is  our  attitude  of  dependence,  our  outlook  tow- 
ard the  ideal,  our  reaction  against  mere  resig- 
nation in  favor  of  creative  contentment,  the 
victorious  faith. 

In  a  certain  attitude  we  note  the  darker  facts 
of  existence,  see  the  limitations,  note  the  fail- 
ures, become  disheartened  by  the  obstacles. 
Enveloped  in  processes  and  conditions,  viewing 
at  close  range  the  circumstances  that  thwart 
and  exasperate,  we  are  gloomy,  depressed,  faint- 
hearted, negative,  pessimistic.  Immersed  in 
the  stages  or  changes  of  development,  we  be- 
come critical,  we  rebel.  But  in  the  contrasted 
attitude  we  realize  the  diversity  of  our  prompt- 
ings, the  richness  of  the  ends  to  be  attained,  and 
we  see  the  compensations.  Admitting  that  we 
are  limited,  we  see  the  reasons  for  concentra- 
tion on  one  great  purpose,  and  press  forward. 

187 


THE  VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

We  take  our  clue  more  and  more  from  the 
immanent  or  resident  tendencies  of  our  nature, 
realizing  that  what  is  now  active  has  been  long 
in  preparation,  that  "the  child  is  the  father 
of  the  man";  and  why  it  is  that  "the  occasion 
makes  the  man." 

Even  Nietzsche,  upon  whom  we  tried  for  a 
while  to  put  the  blame  for  the  war,  teaches  this 
principle  of  constructive  adaptation  to  all  the 
activities  now  at  hand.  In  the  words  of  Roj^ce's 
admirable  summary  in  the  Atlantic  Monthly, 
March,  1917,  Nietzsche's  "constant  teaching 
is,  if  you  have  any  insistent  horror,  conquer 
it  by  facing  it  and  thinking  it  out.  If  fate 
besets  you,  make  what  seems  fate  also  appear  to 
you  as  your  own  deed.  If  you  have  any  evil 
thought,  make  it  a  part  of  your  free  self  by 
expressing  once  for  all  its  whole  meaning.  Do 
not  suppress  your  weaknesses.  Build  j'our 
strength  upon  them.  It  is  with  the  painful  as 
it  is  with  the  so-called  evil  element  of  your 
nature.  It  is  to  be  won  over  to  the  service  of 
perfection  even  by  being  fearlessly  accepted, 
worked  out,  and  thereby  conquered. " 

We  need  not  go  so  far  as  to  denj'  the  existence 

or  reality  of  our  ills,  sins,  evils,  and  losses.     To 

declare  each  time  a  temptation  arises  or  a  hard- 

188 


THE   PATHWAY  OF  FAITH 

ship  comes  to  us  that  "it  is  nothing,"  and  to 
turn  away  from  facts,  will  be  to  court  the  worst 
kind  of  moral  reaction  when  the  pretense  can  no 
longer  be  sustained.  The  victorious  faith  does 
not  consist  in  "demonstrating  over"  error,  sin, 
and  evil ;  not  in  closing  our  eyes  to  the  sufferings 
of  the  world:  the  true  affirmative  attitude 
springs  from  moral  integrity  and  the  love  of 
facts.  It  is  perfectly  ready  to  admit  a  fault,  but 
refuses  to  stop  with  the  recognition  of  faults 
and  mistakes.  It  looks  back  of  the  experiences 
at  hand  to  see  whither  they  are  tending,  what 
their  inherent  worth  is,  and  how  they  may  be 
turned  to  advantage.  The  ideal  is  not  to  ignore 
circumstance,  but,  granted  what  is  at  hand,  to 
meet  it  as  well  as  one  can  in  view  of  the  higher 
good.  If  dependent  on  conditions,  gain  your 
freedom  by  thinking  and  living  through  the 
conditions  to  the  end.  Rise  above  as  many 
adversities  as  you  can,  but  always  by  adapting 
yourself  to  the  conditions  which  nature  imposes ; 
the  conditions  of  rest,  sleep,  nourishment,  exer- 
cise. Whoso  would  master  must  first  under- 
stand and  obey. 

One  of  the  greatest  lessons  relative  to  the 
pathway  of  faith  is  learned  from  contact  with 
those  people  of  strong  character  who  show  by 

189 


THE   VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

example  when  to  abide  by  circumstance,  when 
not.  Many  a  strong  soul  has  been  condemned 
to  a  speedy  death  by  friends,  physicians,  and 
specialists  when,  by  sure  intuition  and  victorious 
faith,  a  way  was  disclosed  to  continued  life 
and  years  of  splendid  service.  That  is  to  say, 
the  person  in  question  sees  possibilities  and  is 
aware  of  powers  not  discerned  by  onlookers 
and  doctors.  The  diagnosis  may  be  true  as  far 
as  it  reaches,  but  it  is  neglectful  of  the  inner 
facts.  The  person  meanwhile  may  know  him- 
self as  no  specialist  in  the  world  could  ever 
know  him.  For  this  interior  knowledge  in- 
cludes relationship  to  spiritual  powers  not  seen 
on  the  external  plane.  A  few  spiritual  facts 
outweigh  a  multitude  of  facts  pertaining  to  the 
nervous  system  and  the  bodily  organism.  The 
power  of  the  spirit  is,  after  all,  the  great  con- 
sideration. No  diagnosis  ever  takes  life  in  its 
fullness  into  account. 

By  the  power  of  the  spirit  we  mean  more 
than  "the  power  of  thought."  One  must 
indeed  use  thought  to  grow.  It  is  well,  for 
example,  to  begin  each  day  by  meditating  upon 
some  great  idea  which  expresses  the  triumph 
of  the  soul,  to  start  every  important  undertaking 
by  exposing  the  proposed  plan  on  the  altar  of 

190 


THE   PATHWAY  OF  FAITH 

thought.  But  more  depends  upon  lifting  the 
thought  into  spiritual  light  than  upon  thought 
itself.  True  affirmativeness  is  of  the  spirit 
rather  than  of  thought;  it  springs  from  the  will, 
which  in  turn  takes  its  clue  from  what  we  truly 
love,  and  is  measured  by  faith  in  God  and  man. 
What  should  be  constant  is  our  spirit,  the  power 
by  which  we  cling  to  our  faith  "though  all  the 
way  be  dark. "  Then  the  office  of  thought  will 
be  to  inquire  into  the  situation  thus  illumined, 
to  see  the  spiritual  reasons  for  such  faith.  In 
all  our  thinking  we  will  then  start  with  the 
thought  of  the  divine  order.  The  emphasis 
will  be  upon  the  divine  efficiency,  aided  by  the 
soul's  valiant  readiness  to  walk  in  the  way  of 
wisdom.  We  may  then  look  out  upon  life  with 
the  expectation  that  experience  will  more  and 
more  yield  precisely  the  opportunities  that  are 
spiritually  needed,  leading  the  way  around  or 
above  those  circumstances  which  signify  noth- 
ing. 

Thus  one  will  no  longer  accept  what  the  day 
brings  merely  because  it  comes.  What  comes 
may  arrive  only  to  be  rejected.  Nor  need  one 
take  up  with  every  individual  who  offers,  every 
call  for  service.  One  will  be  able  to  say  *'No" 
on  principle.     The  hour  will  be  full  of  those 

191 


THE   VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

opportunities  for  work  and  service  which  the 
spirit  brings. 

Meanwhile,  of  course,  experience  will  still 
bring  its  temptations  and  its  tests.  If  what 
comes  to  me  to-day  tends  to  arouse  my  pride, 
to  appeal  to  my  vanity,  or  touch  me  in  a  weak 
spot,  let  me  first  inquire  into  the  elements  of 
my  nature  thus  involved.  Instead  of  giving 
way  to  pride,  vanity,  and  weakness,  I  may  then 
turn  the  day's  experience  to  splendid  account. 
Even  if  I  yield  for  the  moment  to  the  tempta- 
tion, let  me  not  complain,  let  me  not  turn  and 
rend  my  neighbor,  but  look  to  myself  as  the 
agent  to  be  dealt  with.  If  I  call  down  adverse 
criticism  upon  my  head,  envy,  dislike,  condem- 
nation, malice,  let  me  in  each  case  look  to  my- 
self and  deal  with  myself  first.  I  cannot  intel- 
ligently judge  any  experience,  attempted  influ- 
ence, or  personal  relationship,  by  the  guise 
which  it  externally  assumes.  Since  it  is  meant 
for  my  good,  it  springs  from  the  Source  of  all 
goodness,  hence  should  be  regarded  in  the  light 
of  its  purpose  for  me.  The  attitude  I  adopt 
should  be  with  reference  to  the  Power  behind  the 
deed.  Even  if  it  be  done  in  a  contemptible  man- 
ner, if  it  find  expression  through  a  small-minded 
person,  let  me  rise  above  the  means  to  the  end. 

192 


THE   PATHWAY  OF  FAITH 

Thus  relating  what  happens  to  my  inward 
self,  I  proceed  to  think  the  matter  over  to  see 
what  is  wise.  To  "descend  to  meet,"  to  resist 
in  kind,  would  be  like  opposing  pain  in  its 
beneficence.  If  a  pain  arises  within  my  organ- 
ism, I  naturally  seek  its  origin  and  meaning;  I 
do  not  fight  it  or  nerve  myself  to  endure  it, 
since  opposition  of  spirit  generates  friction  and 
tension.  To  meet  pain  wisely  one  becomes 
inwardly  still  and  relaxed;  one  dismisses  fear, 
anxiety,  every  disturbing  emotion,  uniting  in 
spirit  with  a  higher  level  of  power.  Why 
should  we  not  proceed  as  wisely  in  every  rela- 
tionship, transferring  the  center  of  activity  from 
the  given  sensations  and  emotions  to  their 
meaning,  and  the  Power  behind?  Thus  to 
meet  life  is  not  by  any  means  to  adopt  inverte- 
brate optimism,  but  to  lift  all  experience  to 
the  level  of  its  spiritual  value.  One  then  adopts 
an  attitude  which  will  lead  to  progress.  One 
may  even  declare  that  "all  suffering  means 
progress,'*  since  the  affirmative  attitude  takes 
the  sting  out  of  pain,  takes  away  the  rebellion 
and  the  fear.  Whatever  resistance  then  en- 
sues will  take  its  clue  from  above,  not  from 
beneath. 

This  attitude  tow^ard  life  implies  the  convic- 

193 


THE  VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

tion  that  throughout  the  long  series  of  experi- 
ences there  are  rhythms  or  cycles  of  change  or 
development.  These  may  sometimes  bring 
periods  of  depression,  but  they  will  be  followed 
by  periods  of  insight  if  we  have  learned  the  law 
of  their  periodicity.  The  whole  situation  in 
fact  changes  for  us  with  the  realization  that 
the  impelling  efficiency  is  an  immanent  move- 
ment or  life  which  is  of  the  Spirit.  Our  atten- 
tion will  then  be  centered  on  the  Spirit  instead 
of  on  the  conditions  it  uses,  and  we  will  stead- 
ily wait  for  the  higher  to  come  forth  from  the 
lower,  whilst  working  with  the  Spirit  to  se- 
cure this  end.  What  once  would  have  pro- 
duced servitude  will  then  make  for  freedom, 
what  once  would  have  led  to  war  will  bring 
peace. 

To  attain  this  at^titude  let  us  be  willing  to 
pass  through  the  process  of  regeneration  in 
which  we  find  ourselves.  Let  us  look  deeply 
enough  to  see  that  this  process  is  being  carried 
on,  not  of  our  own  volition,  but  through  the 
immanent  divine  efficiency.  Just  as  we  are 
willing  to  have  the  nations  freed  from  their 
secret  diplomacies  and  other  ambitions,  through 
war  if  need  be,  so  we  may  as  individuals  be  will- 
ing to  have  the  accumulations  of  deceit,  hypoc- 

194 


THE  PATHWAY  OF  FAITH 

risy,  and  self-righteousness  brought  to  the  sur- 
face and  blown  off  by  the  winds  of  heaven — 
as  rapidly  as  we  can  survive  the  process  of 
cleansing.  We  need  not  rebel  at  any  phase  of 
the  process.  Well  may  we  let  it  go  and  rejoice, 
giving  thanks  that  at  last  we  see  the  law.  We 
may  even  be  willing  to  be  "brought  low," 
to  see  the  whole  structure  of  our  selfhood  at 
ebb-tide,  as  if  the  world  no  longer  had  place  for 
us.  The  flood-tide  is  coming.  We  may  mount 
higher  if  we  have  descended  very  far.  The 
more  thorough  the  refining  process  the  greater 
the  fruition. 

Wliat  one  becomes  contented  with  in  the 
long  run  is  the  inner  law  whereby  every  wrong 
and  impurity,  every  sin  and  evil,  is  brought  to 
the  surface  and  exposed  for  the  thing  it  really  is, 
that  we  may  see  it  for  "the  thing  it  is"  without 
mincing  matters.  Then  in  our  freedom  we  may 
discard  it  once  for  all.  Granted  this  disclosure 
and  our  willing  response,  regeneration  may 
follow.  It  will  follow  if  we  continue  to  be 
responsive  and  to  acknowledge  the  one  source 
of  efficiency.  We  may  then  arrange  the  salient 
principles  of  life  in  the  right  order,  starting  with 
the  idea  of  God.  Beginning  thus,  we  may  put 
the  emphasis  where  it  belongs  throughout  the 

195 


THE   VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

process  of  faith's  pathway,  striking  at  the  very 
heart  of  those  adverse  states  which  come  within 
our  control,  overcoming  the  attitude  which 
blocks  the  passageway  of  the  Spirit.  Then  we 
will  find  at  last  in  what  sense  environment 
makes  a  difference,  for  we  will  know  how  to  use 
externals  to  advantage.  For  we  will  realize 
that  we  are  not  brought  low  as  if  the  soul  were 
of  no  worth,  but  because  it  is  cloyed  with  a 
thousand  and  one  hampering  incidents  and 
burdens. 

Then  we  may  recall  with  new  insight  those 
inspiriting  words  of  the  great  apostle:  "For  I 
have  learned  in  whatsoever  state  I  am,  therein 
to  be  content."  Remembering  what  tribula- 
tions the  apostle  passed  through  even  after  his 
sublimation  on  the  road  to  Damascus,  we  realize 
that  here  indeed  is  the  triumphant  faith.  Here 
indeed  we  are  at  the  very  heart  of  the  gospel, 
and  we  seem  to  hear  as  living  words  uttered  in 
our  own  ears  to-day:  "In  the  world  ye  shall 
have  tribulation,  but  be  of  good  cheer,  I  have 
overcome  the  world."  "Blessed  are  ye  when 
men  shall  reproach  you,  and  persecute  you,  and 
say  all  manner  of  evil  against  you  falsely,  for 
my  sake.  Rejoice  and  be  exceeding  glad,  for 
great  is  your  reward  in  heaven :  for  so  persecuted 

196 


THE   PATHWAY  OF  FAITH 

they  the  prophets  which  were  before  you." 
Thus  at  last  we  know  how  to  resist,  or  rather 
to  let  the  Spirit  resist  in  and  through  us.  Thus 
at  last  we  possess  the  truth  which  makes  men 
free. 


IX 

SPIRITUAL   DEMOCRACY 

WHITHER  lias  our  inquiry  led  us?  Have 
we  found  a  faith  meet  for  all  occasions 
as  life  discloses  itself  to-day?  Apparently  we 
have,  so  far,  at  least,  as  general  principles  are 
concerned.  The  conditions  of  life  seem  well 
fitted  for  the  many-sided  development  of  the 
soul,  when  we  regard  those  conditions  from 
within.  We  can  scarcely  find  flaws  in  the 
moral  order.  If  there  be  a  prevailing  fault 
anywhere,  it  is  in  man's  misapprehension  of  the 
relative  values  of  inner  and  outer  conditions, 
peace  and  justice,  and  other  contrasted  values 
or  principles.  Approaching  the  thought  of 
God  in  the  light  of  resident  forces  and  immanent 
tendencies  in  intimate  relation  to  the  events  of 
the  world,  we  can  no  longer  distrust  or  doubt 
Him.  The  outlook  is  hopeful  when  we  consider 
the  ideal  forces  at  work  in  the  world.  Surely 
honesty,  truth,  the  right,  forgiveness,  charity, 

198 


SPIRITUAL  DEMOCRACY 

sympathy,  love,  are  superior  in  power  and  value 
to  their  opposites — that  is,  when  seen  and  recog- 
nized. These  taken  separately  or  in  combina- 
tion give  content  and  life  to  the  higher  resist- 
ance, which  is  thereby  shown  to  be  genuinely 
practical.  For  those  who  still  face  the  opposi- 
tion offered  by  their  earthly  natures,  there  is 
the  highly  promising  ideal  of  "the  moral  equiva- 
lent," the  sublimation  of  passion  into  efficiency. 
Our  plea  is  for  a  widely  inclusive  study  of  hu- 
man nature  preparatory  to  a  complete  trans- 
mutation of  lower  into  higher  incentives. 

The  victorious  faith  takes  shape  for  us 
amid  our  effort  thus  to  be  true  to  the  open 
spiritual  vision  while  keeping  close  to  the  con- 
crete events  and  conditions  of  the  world.  We 
witness  its  operation  in  people  who  courageously 
meet  what  is  at  hand,  even  war,  as  somehow 
expressing  the  present  social  system,  hence  to 
be  lived  through,  understood,  conquered,  and 
put  behind.  Some  of  these  courageous  men  and 
women  impress  us  most  because  of  the  great 
sense  of  repose  they  carry.  Probably  most  of 
us  are  more  heartened  by  personal  example 
than  by  argument  and  individual  study  of 
these  matters. 

We  realize,  however,  that  whatever  the  at- 

199 


THE  VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

tainments  of  others,  our  own  attitude  to  life's 
actual  daily  process  makes  a  radical  difference. 
Unless  we  push  through  the  pathway  of  faith 
to  meet  new  and  unforeseen  developments,  we 
can  hardly  expect  to  know  the  law  of  life.  We 
discover  at  last  that  we  possess  an  altogether 
wonderful  power  of  adjustment.  Given  the 
clue,  we  should  be  able  to  turn  experiences 
threatening  to  bring  pain  and  misery  into  free- 
dom and  development,  and  this  without  limit, 
since  all  conditions  may  become  our  allies. 
We  have  a  yet  greater  power  in  the  social  side 
of  our  nature  through  which  many  a  difficulty 
can  be  overcome  that  would  be  insuperable 
without  co-operation.  Greater  still  is  the 
power  of  that  appreciative  obedience  by  which 
we  give  ourselves  at  last  to  the  divine  trend  of 
life,  in  contrast  with  the  self-will  which  once 
generated  so  much  friction.  The  whole  mean- 
ing of  faith's  pathway,  with  its  windings  and 
pitfalls,  its  opportunities  for  success,  seems  to  be 
that  we  shall  come  at  last  to  the  point  where  we 
realize  the  presence  of  the  one  Efficiency,  surely 
and  steadily  bringing  us  to  the  goal  of  our 
heart's  desire.  Even  war,  we  see,  is  for  the 
sake  of  bringing  the  soul  to  judgment  and 
freedom. 

200 


SPIRITUAL  DEMOCRACY 

Through  all  this  serene  reflection,  however, 
there  persists  a  question:  If  the  higher  re- 
sistance be  the  all-conquering  power  we  claim 
it  is,  why  is  it  not  more  effective  in  the  world? 
For  surely  the  situation  is  a  strange  one.  Here 
is  the  world  turning  against  war  with  its  attend- 
ant evils  and  praising  the  virtues,  even  agreeing 
that  war  will  never  cease  until  the  moral  powers 
of  the  nations  are  organized  to  prevent  it. 
Nothing  remains  to  convince  us  of  the  right- 
eousness of  our  conclusions.  But  how  shall  we 
organize  the  world  to  carry  the  higher  resistance 
into  execution .f^  How  shall  we  prove  in  actual 
practice  the  superiority  of  honesty,  truth,  the 
right?  Apparently,  the  higher  we  ascend  in  the 
social  scale  the  more  difficulty  in  organizing 
our  fellow-men.  Organization  is  indeed  the 
great  means.  We  see  that  everywhere.  The 
world  can  make  no  headway  without  it.  Yet 
the  lower  the  motive,  the  more  effective.  What 
society  for  human  betterment  can  compete 
with  an  organization  to  further  selfish  ends? 
What  state  dedicated  to  moral  ideals  can  equal 
in  efficiency  one  that  is  given  over  to  heartless 
materialism?  Has  this  not  always  been  the 
case  since  empires  began  to  be?  Do  we  not 
constantly  witness  the  downfall  of  states  which, 

201 


THE  VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

like  those  of  ancient  Greece,  stand  for  the  beau- 
tiful, the  true,  and  the  good? 

Ideally  speaking,  organization  should  in- 
crease with  moral  and  spiritual  power.  But 
look  at  the  Churches.  Instead  of  standing  to- 
gether for  the  essentials  of  Christianity,  the 
churches  have  shown  more  love  for  the  peculi- 
arities attaching  to  the  special  creed  or  cere- 
monial. The  Christian  world  is  so  far  from 
unity  that  states  no  longer  look  to  the  Church 
for  aid.  To  mention  even  the  possibility  of 
a  union  of  sects  is  to  find  each  sect  proclaiming 
the  virtues  of  its  distinctness  from  the  others. 
Each  sect  is  further  divided  into  two  wings,  torn 
by  doctrinal  disputations  between  progressives 
and  conservatives.  As  the  individual  believer 
among  liberal  groups  becomes  more  highly 
developed  he  thinks  and  acts  more  as  if  he  were 
a  law  unto  himself.  Some  leaders  hold  that 
organization  is  simply  impossible.  There  are 
critics  who  declare  that  "every  organized  relig- 
ion in  the  world  exists  only  to  exploit  and  divert 
and  waste  the  religious  impulse  in  man,  as  Mr. 
Wells  has  recently  said.  "Organization,"  it  is 
said,  "is  the  life  of  material  and  the  death  of 
spiritual  processes. " 

The  same  appears  to  be  true  if  we  look  at  the 

202 


SPIRITUAL  DEMOCRACY 

question  from  the  point  of  view  of  evil.  We 
must  all  say  frankly  with  Balfour  on  the  occa- 
sion of  his  recent  address  to  the  House  of 
Representatives,  that  "this  evil,  this  menace, 
under  which  we  are  now  suffering,  is  not  one 
which  diminishes  with  the  growth  of  knowledge 
and  progress,  of  material  civilization,  but,  on 
the  contrary,  it  increases  with  them.  When  I 
was  young,"  Balfour  continued,  "we  used  to 
flatter  ourselves  that  progress  inevitably  meant 
peace,  and  that  growth  of  knowledge  always  was 
accompanied,  as  its  natural  fruit,  by  the  growth 
of  good-will  among  the  nations  of  the  earth. 
Unhappily  we  know  better  now."  We  know 
better  because  we  have  seen  all  the  resources 
of  science  brought  to  bear  to  strengthen  and 
intensify  the  most  cruel  war  the  world  has  seen. 
We  know  better  because  we  have  found  the 
great  trusts  and  combines  in  our  country  in- 
creasing their  powers  of  evil  with  their  strength 
and  efficiency.  We  know  better  for  a  hundred 
reasons. 

Another  frank  English  thinker,  Mr.  Bertrand 
Russell,  in  the  May  Atlantic,  goes  so  far  as  to 
say  that  "the  civilized  races  of  the  world  are 
faced  with  the  alternative  of  co-operation  or 

mutual  destruction.  ...  If  men  could  divest 

203 


THE  VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

themselves   of   the   sentiment   of   rivalry   and 
hostility  between  different  nations,  they  would 
perceive  that  the  matters  in  which  the  interests 
of  different  nations  coincide  immeasurably  out- 
weigh those  in  which  they  clash."     Certainly, 
if  they    "could"   thus   divest  themselves,  but 
what  shall  touch  them  so  that  they  will?     We 
all,    no    doubt,  agree    with   Mr.  Wells's    con- 
clusion when  he  says,  "I  believe  that  this  im- 
pulse to  collective  service  can  satisfy  itself  only 
under  the  formula  that  mankind  is  one  state 
of  which  God  is  the  undying  king,  and  that  the 
service  of  men's  collective  needs  is  the  true 
worship  of  God."     But  the  question  is.  How 
shall  we  bring  the  world  to  this  position?     Ap- 
parently, the  enemy  can   invent  new  engines 
of  torture  more  rapidly  than  the  righteous  can 
find  means  of  destroying  these  miserable  de- 
vices.    The  prime  difficulty  seems  to  be  that 
we  do  not  understand  the  forces  of  evil  so  well 
as  we  do  our  favorite  modes  of  life  and  thought. 
It  would  be  possible,  however,  to  push  this 
objection  too  far.     Organization,   after   all,   is 
really  an  idea,  not  a  thing.     Its  effectiveness, 
say  in  the  Roman  Church,  lies  in  the  great  com- 
pelling motive  which  thus  marshals  ideas.     The 
militarism  which  has  threatened  the  world  was 

204 


SPIRITUAL  DEMOCRACY 

a  product  of  thought.  Its  psychology  now  lies 
open  before  us.  What  we  need  is  an  aroused 
world  to  take  over  this  psychological  machinery. 
It  were  cowardly  to  explain  that  it  cannot  be 
done  before  we  have  tried.  It  may  require 
longer  to  arouse  and  utilize  liberals  and  varied 
types  in  a  democracy,  but  it  can  be  done.  The 
spiritually  minded  may  not  readily  yield  them- 
selves to  organization,  but  the  need  is  for  a  plan 
involving  less  formality,  more  openness  to  life, 
wider  recognition  of  individuality  and  genius. 
If  orthodoxy  has  hitherto  been  unfriendly  to 
genius,  let  orthodoxy  reform  its  tests  and  its 
methods. 

Meanwhile,  the  greatest  force  of  all,  so  some 
critics  of  society  tell  us,  is  the  economic  deter- 
minism whose  power  has  been  forced  upon  our 
attention  by  study  of  the  present  social  order. 
The  war  has  brought  so  many  economic  matters 
to  the  fore  that  one  might  almost  believe  the 
existing  commercial  system  to  be  the  root  of  all 
evil.  Indeed,  there  are  socialists  who  confi- 
dently insist  that  the  great  war  in  Europe  was 
wholly  due  to  capitalistic  conditions,  to  the 
desire  to  carry  still  further  the  tendency  to 
exploitation  from  which  Europe  had  already 
been  suffering  for  many  a  generation.    By  the 

205 


THE  VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

same  rule  it  was  capitalism  which  advocated 
neutrality  in  our  country,  and  then  urged  us 
to  enter  the  war  to  make  yet  more  millions  out 
of  a  people  already  reduced  beyond  all  prece- 
dent. War  in  turn  should  be  opposed,  the 
same  critics  tell  us,  just  because  it  is  the  instru- 
ment of  capitalism.  We  are  all  under  "the 
system."  Its  determinism  is  unescapable. 
The  only  resource  is  revolution. 

Wliile  there  is  force  in  this  contention,  the 
difficulty  is  that  it  claims  too  much.  The 
ulterior  question  is.  Why  has  capitalism  such 
power .f^  What  social  conditions  led  to  it? 
Has  capitalism  been  the  great  source  of  evil 
from  the  foundation  of  the  world  .^^  One  had 
supposed  it  to  be  merely  a  late  development, 
following  upon  many  schemes  for  exploitation, 
and  running  back  to  a  primitive  desire  to  rule 
men  in  behalf  of  self-interest.  War  and  the 
capitalistic  system  are  but  two  ways  in  which 
this  basic  self-love  is  brought  to  the  surface 
and  exposed.  When  it  is  a  question  of  "the 
system"  which  should  come  to  an  end,  why  not 
point  to  human  selfishness  and  declare  that  this 
source  of  evil  in  all  its  forms  "must"  go? 
Surely,  the  ideals  which  socialism  cherishes  can 
be  realized  only  through  universal  co-operation, 

206 


SPIRITUAL  DEMOCRACY 

and  to  secure  that  end  our  whole  human  broth- 
erhood must  feel  "the  social  touch,"  dedicate 
all  the  resources  of  the  earth  and  all  the  indus- 
tries to  the  race.  Why  should  we  not  concen- 
trate upon  the  heart  of  the  matter,  instead  of 
aiming  our  shots  at  one  class  and  one  system? 

If  the  economic  explanation  fails  to  cover  the 
whole  field,  the  same  must  be  said  of  most  theo- 
logical explanations  of  our  central  human  diffi- 
culty. The  great  obstacle  used  to  be  called 
"sin."  Men  might  overcome  their  love  of 
money  and  of  power,  it  was  said.  They  have 
received  instruction  enough.  But  the  tempta- 
tions keep  pace  with  the  growth  of  society. 
There  will  be  no  solution  until  men  recognize 
their  sin,  repent,  and  accept  "salvation." 
Thus  on  through  an  argument  leading  to  the 
creed  of  one's  favorite  Church. 

We  have  reacted  against  this  hypothesis, 
despite  all  its  truth,  because  so  little  has  come 
of  it  in  eighteen  centuries.  The  prior  question 
persistently  rises  to  our  lips:  Why  does  man 
sin?  Is  the  primary  cause  ignorance  or  wil- 
fulness? The  world  does  not  agree.  The 
tendency  nowadays  is  to  push  the  matter  fur- 
ther back,  to  learn  all  we  can  about  heredity 
and  environment,  to  trace  out  social  causes  and 

207 


THE  VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

find  more  successful  means  of  dealing  with 
degenerates  and  criminals,  with  all  classes,  in 
fact.  Surely  the  world  gains  nothing  through 
the  reiteration  of  the  generality  that  man's 
"perversitj^"  is  at  fault,  and  that  the  only  re- 
source is  "the  new  birth."  How  shall  men 
undergo  social  regeneration?  we  ask.  How 
shall  all  social  sin  really  be  driven  from  the 
world  .'^ 

Modern  thought  has  steadily  turned  from 
generalities,  and  psychology  has  been  cutting 
under  theology.  Suppose  we  say,  for  example, 
that  man  sins  because  of  the  inertia,  laziness, 
and  sensuality  of  the  flesh.  Is  the  flesh,  then, 
an  element  to  be  taken  by  itself,  condemned, 
and  left  as  it  is?  Not  so;  the  bodily  organism 
cannot  be  understood  apart  from  its  history 
and  its  relationship  to  the  mind.  All  its  appar- 
ently unruly  elements  have  had  an  evolution 
and  are  capable  of  analysis.  Instead  of  sound- 
ing his  instincts,  desires,  passions,  and  emotions 
to  the  foundation,  man  has  simply  been  trou- 
bled in  soul  over  them;  he  has  repressed  and 
curbed  his  activities  without  limit.  Naturally 
the  body  has  given  him  trouble  under  the  cir- 
cumstances. It  was  developed  for  adequate 
use.     So,  too,  his  mind  is  for  use,  in  response 

208 


SPIRITUAL  DEMOCRACY 

to  an  ideal  of  the  fullness  of  life.  Psychologi- 
cally speaking,  it  is  never  a  question  of  good 
and  evil,  but  of  understanding  and  constructive 
development.  All  life  is  for  expression.  Even 
inertia  is  a  sign  of  confined  power.  The  flesh 
is  not  perverse;  the  perversity  lies  in  the  con- 
ventional theories  we  apply  to  it. 

The  deeper  psychology  shows  us  that  the  real 
disjunction  is  not  between  the  soul  and  the 
body,  but  within  the  self.  Looking  within  the 
self  to  follow  the  matter  to  the  foundation,  we 
find  that  we  cannot  begin  to  attach  blame  until 
we  have  understood  all  the  mental  elements. 
It  cannot  truly  be  said,  for  example,  that  the 
trouble  is  that  we  are  "finite";  for  finite  indeed 
we  must  be  to  stand  for  a  definite  purpose  in 
God's  world,  and  God  alone  is  infinite.  We 
cannot  dismiss  the  question  by  alleging  that 
human  nature  is  "wilful,"  given  over  to  pleas- 
ure and  self-seeking.  The  questions,  How? 
Why?  persistently  arise.  There  is  no  answer  in 
negative  terms.  We  are  of  certain  distinctive 
types,  and  we  are  not  all  guilty  alike.  If  some 
of  us  assert  the  self  overmuch,  others  yield  too 
frequently  and  completely.  If  some  are  too 
strenuous,  others  are  exceedingly  sensitive. 
The  virtuous  suffer  with  the  sinful  through  dis- 

209 


THE  VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

junction  within  the  self.  What  we  need  is  a 
solution  which  looks  beneath  the  usual  classi- 
fications, beneath  good  and  evil,  beneath  the 
finite  itself. 

We  were  meant  "to  energize  to  the  full." 
We  have  abundant  power,  we  have  numerous 
abilities,  and  these  powers  fit  us  for  productive 
service  in  the  world.  Under  other  educational 
and  social  conditions,  each  of  us  would  find 
opportunity  for  adequate  self-expression,  as 
"organs  of  life,"  as  "members  one  of  another." 
What  now  seems  finitude  or  limitation  would 
then  prove  to  be  the  necessary  definiteness  re- 
quired for  purposes  of  concentration.  Our 
self-interests  would  find  satisfaction  through  the 
fullness  of  life.  Any  number  of  elements  of  the 
situation  which  now  incommode  us  would  be 
unnoticed  because  of  our  absorption  in  work. 

In  contrast  with  this  ideal  of  the  fullness  of 
life,  we  now  find  ourselves  born  into  cramped 
and  restrained  conditions,  we  are  curbed 
through  early  training  and  education,  repressed 
and  checked  in  a  hundred  other  ways.  The 
life  which  was  meant  for  adequacy  of  expression 
has  accordingly  wrought  mischief  within  us 
while  struggling  to  free  us  from  restraints. 
Conventionally  speaking,  we  have  been  trained 

210 


SPIRITUAL  DEMOCRACY 

and  developed  for  a  mode  of  life  separated  into 
arbitrary  divisions,  we  have  not  been  trained 
for  the  unity  of  Hfe.  The  more  our  spirits 
rebelled  the  more  unruly  we  became,  and  the 
more  unwisely  we  were  dealt  with  by  specialists 
of  all  schools,  by  the  teacher,  the  pastor,  the 
physician,  the  judge,  the  jailer,  the  king. 
Condemned  at  last  for  "sin,"  we  have  been  put 
off  with  a  makeshift  called  "salvation"  which 
treated  us  as  if  we  were  all  alike. 

What  the  disjunction  in  our  nature  is,  we 
have  been  learning  in  the  foregoing  chapters. 
Man  is  originally  and  primarily  a  being  of  in- 
stincts, desires,  emotions,  passions,  and  the 
will.  Secondarily  he  is  intellectual.  The  func- 
tion of  the  intellect  is  to  follow  after,  to  think, 
reconstruct,  organize.  In  the  ideal  order  man 
would  be  open  and  free  at  heart,  touched  at  the 
center  by  the  divine  love  and  wisdom  received 
as  incoming  life  or  activity;  all  his  instincts  and 
emotions  would  be  contributory,  with  the  will 
in  the  lead,  quickened  by  love;  and  the  intellect 
would  be  united  with  the  will.  The  self  thus 
unified  would  in  turn  join  with  other  selves  in 
doing  the  work  of  the  world,  and  society  as  a 
whole  would  be  responsive  to  the  divine  life  as 
a  true  "city  of  God. " 

211 


THE   VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

In  actuality,  the  world  fluctuates  between 
the  notion  that  the  instinct  for  self-preservation 
is  the  strongest  prompting  in  man,  hence  that 
man  is  rightfully  a  self-seeker,  selfish  and  physi- 
cal; and  the  notion  that  man  is  primarily  a 
rational  being,  guided  by  reason  in  the  pursuit 
of  peace  or  other  ends  deemed  worth  while. 
Hence  there  is  warfare  within  the  self  between 
sharply  contrasted  motives.  But  if  man  is 
primarily  a  spirit  destined  for  heaven — that  is, 
for  fellowship  in  the  city  of  God,  beginning  on 
earth,  the  instinct  for  self-preservation  is  very 
far  from  being  central;  and  man  is  not  primarily 
intellectual.  We  should  judge  by  the  highest 
purpose  for  him.  There  can  be  no  unity,  no 
freedom,  no  true  service  to  the  neighbor  and  the 
state  until  his  powers  are  understood  in  the 
right  order,  until  he  lives  from  the  highest  into 
the  lowest,  from  the  spiritual  into  the  natural. 
The  instinct  for  self-preservation  will  then  be 
absorbed,  the  merely  human  will  be  lifted  up. 
Man  will  remain  essentially  a  feeling,  willing, 
emotional  being;  but  as  he  reaches  the  age  of 
reason  his  reason  will  be  touched  with  heavenly 
emotion,  his  reason  will  serve  his  heart. 

The  test  of  any  plan  for  social  regeneration, 
therefore,  would  be,  Is  it  able  to  overcome  this 

212 


SPIRITUAL  DEMOCRACY 

fundamental  disjunction  in  our  nature?  Will 
socialism,  for  example,  when  it  becomes  uni- 
versal, after  the  abolition  of  the  capitalist 
class,  with  the  end  of  war  and  the  rule  of  kings, 
call  men  into  co-operation  so  that  they  will  all 
think,  live,  act  as  brothers?  Will  economic 
freedom  mean  that  each  individual  will  energize 
to  the  full  with  no  break  between  the  under- 
standing and  the  will,  no  conflict  between  indi- 
viduals? Will  the  promised  revolution  in  so- 
ciety from  the  outside  so  touch  the  inner  life 
as  to  solve  these  world-old  issues  of  the  soul? 
Will  the  adoption  of  the  right  economic  plat- 
form so  change  society  that  God  shall  at  last 
be  "  the  undying  king  "  ?  Does  economic  rebirth 
mean  spiritual  rebirth  and  democracy? 

Another  test  will  be  the  power  of  the  pro- 
posed plan  to  overcome  the  great  disjunction 
between  the  state  and  the  Church.  The 
modern  world  has  been  steadily  emphasizing 
that  separation  ever  since  the  pope  lost  his 
temporal  power,  and  Protestantism  became 
divided  into  so  many  sects  that  the  question 
of  religion  had  to  be  left  out  of  political  matters. 
Meanwhile,  the  Church  has  been  losing  head- 
way by  internal  dissension  over  doctrinal  and 
other  sectarian  matters.     It  has  greatly  lost 

15  213 


THE   VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

its  hold  on  the  people.  All  this  separateness 
must  be  overcome  and  we  must  work  our  way 
to  a  union  between  civil  life  and  the  spiritual. 
Sooner  or  later,  somehow,  the  spiritual  must 
once  more  become  supreme,  with  the  political 
as  an  adjunct,  a  natural  basis.  Sooner  or  later, 
there  must  be  a  union  in  society  corresponding 
to  the  union  between  head  and  heart  in  the 
individual.  This  unity  must  be  essentially 
spiritual  because  man  is  by  nature  essentially 
spiritual. 

As  profound  as  psychology  is,  as  much  light 
as  it  throws  on  the  structure  of  the  self  and  the 
nature  of  war,  we  may  well  doubt  whether  it 
can  solve  the  great  problem.  It  has  indeed 
shown  us  the  way  by  tracing  the  difficulty  to  a 
central  disunion  between  the  impulsive  side  of 
our  nature  and  the  rational.  But  psychology 
remains  to  the  end  dispassionate.  It  cannot 
assess  our  human  abilities  and  tell  us  their 
worth  in  relation  to  good  and  evil.  It  cannot 
generate  conscience  or  produce  the  new  birth. 
For  mere  knowledge,  after  all,  is  not  enough. 

What  must  be  added  with  great  impelling 
power  in  the  heart  is  a  spiritual  quickening. 
We  are  constituted  for  the  new  birth,  for  unity, 
for    service    or    membership    "in    the    vine." 

214. 


SPIRITUAL  DEMOCRACY 

But  it  is  the  spiritual  element  quickened  by  the 
divine  Hfe  which  gives  the  efficiency.  Our  part 
is  to  gain  this  profounder  knowledge  of  human 
nature  and  the  basic  principles  of  human 
society,  to  convey  this  enlightenment  to  others 
so  far  as  we  can  find  willing  ears  to  listen;  then 
hope  and  pray  that  the  divine  impetus  will 
touch  our  hearers  into  power. 

We  may  confidently  say  that  a  new  light  Is 
shining  in  the  world  to-day,  a  light  which  will 
be  disclosed  to  any  one  who  seeks  this  deeper 
wisdom  concerning  war,  the  moral  ideal,  the 
human  self.  If  this  were  not  so,  if  there  were 
not  a  greatly  increased  spiritual  activity  at 
work  among  us,  the  human  world  would  indeed 
be  destroyed  by  the  terrible  war  and  its  conse- 
quences. The  war  is  in  truth  an  external 
expression  of  matters  long  ago  reckoned  with  in 
the  inner  life,  in  the  spiritual  world.  The  real 
war  was  between  the  mentality  which  expressed 
itself  in  the  world's  greatest  militarism  and  the 
moral  ideals  in  opposition  to  that  militarism. 
It  touched  every  soul  on  earth  sooner  or  later. 
But  also  on  the  earth  long  before  the  external 
conflict  began  to  be  intense  there  was  spiritual 
preparation  to  meet  the  coming  outbreak  of 
infernal  forces.     Never  has  there  been  such  an 

215 


THE   VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

organized  struggle  of  mental  and  spiritual 
forces.  Its  import  is  a  Spiritual  Democracy  of 
the  enlightened  nations  of  the  earth  in  this 
great  social  century. 

We  who  have  suffered  in  soul  with  the  soldiers 
in  the  trenches  have  an  unexampled  oppor- 
tunity. For  we  are  not  judging  by  surfaces. 
We  are  not  troubled  by  the  war  and  its  fruits 
in  the  sense  of  anxiety  lest  civilization  be 
imperiled,  lest  the  moral  order  fail  on  earth. 
For  we  possess  a  faith,  a  priceless  faith.  It  has 
been  made  known  to  us  that  life  is  a  process 
for  the  freeing  and  unifying  of  the  soul,  that 
there  is  a  Life  within  and  behind  all  these 
surging  events  which  is  casting  impurities  to 
the  surface  and  bringing  evils  to  the  fore  so 
that  they  may  be  seen,  recognized,  and  over- 
come. We  are  not  thinking  with  the  mere 
stream  of  events,  but  in  line  with  the  deeply 
acting  causes;  we  are  looking  within  and  behind 
to  discern  the  spiritual  import  of  it  all.  We 
are  not  even  impatient  to  have  the  purifying 
process  come  to  an  end;  for  we  wish  it  to  be 
thorough,  we  wish  the  world  to  learn  the  great- 
est lesson  of  history  from  the  war  and  its 
results. 

The  solution  of  faith's  problems  cannot  come 

21G 


SPIRITUAL  DEMOCRACY 

to  the  world  save  through  a  vision  of  things 
divine.  We  may  indeed  work  toward  the  solu- 
tion through  several  points  of  approach.  But 
let  us  not  mistake  the  mental  organism  for  the 
life  which  shall  fill  it.  Let  us  realize  that 
together  with  the  psychological  study  we  need 
the  inner  illumination,  the  spiritual  touch  which 
transfigures  all.  Just  as  we  must  observe, 
analyze,  think,  in  order  to  understand  the  self 
psychologically,  and  see  the  relation  of  psycho- 
logical matters  to  the  war,  so  we  must  put  our- 
selves in  the  right  relations  to  receive  the 
divine  quickening. 

Those  who  come  into  knowledge  of  spiritual 
things  are  apt  to  be  humble  and  self-effacing, 
practising  the  Christian  virtues  with  mildness 
only,  overdoing  the  emphasis  on  receptivity. 
The  reflections  on  life's  process  which  the  war 
has  brought  should  awaken  one  and  all  to  the 
need  for  greatly  increased  activity,  with  willing- 
ness to  co-operate  with  every  one  who  discerns 
the  signs  of  the  times.  For,  plainly,  our  part 
is  not  alone  to  listen,  receive,  wait;  but  so  to 
admit  the  Holy  Spirit  into  our  natures  that 
it  shall  resist  all  temptations,  overcome  all 
external  resistance,  and  send  us  forth  into 
service.     We  are  co-operative  beings,  not  mere 

217 


THE  VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

receptacles.  We  are  called  into  action,  and  this 
means  many-sided  action,  through  the  feehngs 
and  the  will,  through  reason,  and  through 
productive  adaptation  to  society  according 
to  our  greatest  fitness  for  service.  The  greater 
the  stress  and  strain  in  the  outer  world,  the 
more  reason  for  increased  activity  in  fostering 
the  things  of  the  Spirit. 

A  spiritual  democracy  is  surely  possible.  It 
is  indeed  possible  to  organize  so  as  to  meet  the 
occasion.  Wliat  others  on  the  physical  level 
have  done  by  way  of  grouping  their  forces  and 
co-ordinating  their  plans,  we  can  do  on  the 
moral  level.  Nature  as  disclosed  by  science 
has  shown  us  the  way.  The  organism  of  the 
world  springs  from  the  divine  nature  and  pur- 
pose, not  from  any  scheme  of  man's.  The  law 
and  continuity,  the  system  and  unity  of  the 
world  are  from  the  divine  order,  and  the  real 
goal  is  righteousness,  not  the  kingship  of 
material  force.  This  system  of  things  is 
grounded  in  human  nature,  in  the  whole  social 
order;  it  is  not  in  any  sense  foreign  to  us.  The 
prime  difficulty  is  that  we  have  not  awakened 
to  the  great  fact  that  the  whole  inner  course  of 
life  is  making  toward  the  things  of  the  Spirit. 

Thus  regarded,  the  whole  outward  order  of 

218 


SPIRITUAL  DEMOCRACY 

the  world  in  space  and  time  is  the  sign  and 
symbol  of  the  spiritual,  and  cannot  be  under- 
stood save  through  purposes  which  run  through 
the  generations.  We  find  ourselves  engaged 
in  a  process,  in  the  visible  field  of  the  soul,  like 
participants  of  a  play  whose  whole  value  lies 
in  its  inner  significance.  Memorable  indeed  is 
the  hour  which  lifts  us  at  last  out  of  the  mere 
play  to  a  vision  of  the  realities  lying  behind. 
The  vision  may  soon  fade,  and  we  may  find  our- 
selves playing  our  parts  once  more  as  if  the 
earthly  incidents  and  triumphs  were  the  ever- 
lasting reality  itself.  But  the  vision  will  re- 
turn. In  due  time  we  shall  learn  to  live  enough 
above  and  outside  of  life's  daily  drama  to  know 
interiorly  all  the  while  that  it  is  a  drama. 

The  war  from  the  first  has  been  an  expression 
of  this  intimate  drawing  together  among  in- 
dividuals and  nations.  We  thought  it  was 
for  other  reasons.  It  seemed  to  have  resulted 
from  a  petty  quarrel.  But  presently  we  found 
that  it  was  due  to  deep-laid  plans  scarcely  to 
be  understood  without  grasping  the  psychology 
of  the  nation  most  at  fault.  Then  we  found  it 
disclosing  any  number  of  results  which  no  man, 
no  nation,  counted  on:  we  found  it  a  war  in 
behalf  of  democracy  the  wide  world  over.    But 


219 


THE    VICTORIOUS    FAITH 

even  this  was  an  incomplete  explanation.  For 
the  war  did  not  spring  from  consciously  assign- 
able reasons  alone.  It  sprang  from  the  total 
life,  conscious  and  subconscious,  of  all  the  na- 
tions involved.  It  was  an  expression  of  forces 
that  operated  over  and  above  our  wills.  It 
brought  changes  which  none  of  us  was  wise 
enough  to  foresee. 

In  our  country,  there  was  a  persistent  effort 
to  abstain  from  the  war  for  various  reasons, 
creditable  and  discreditable.  When  we  finally 
came  out  with  the  formal  declaration,  the  war 
was  apparently  made  ours  by  our  own  con- 
scious act  and  for  reasons  of  our  own.  In  all 
this  we  seemed  to  be  acting  as  if  a  group  of 
human  beings  could  manage  the  total  welfare  of 
a  nation.  Meanwhile,  the  larger  social  forces 
had  been  settling  these  matters  long  before.  We 
were  drawn  into  the  war  little  by  little  from 
the  hour  Belgium  was  invaded  and  the  Lusitania 
sunk.  We  were  drawn  in  because  intimately 
related  in  a  hundred  ways  to  the  nations 
involved.  Our  formal  declaration  of  war  was 
merely  an  after-statement.  Our  consciously 
assigned  reasons  were  some  of  the  motives 
only.  The  war  came  to  us  as  part  and  parcel 
of  our  whole  democratic  moral  and  spiritual  life. 

220 


SPIRITUAL    DEMOCRACY 

It  came  as  an  expression  of  world-forces  draw- 
ing the  nations  toward  Spiritual  Democracy. 
What  we  failed  consciously  to  see  was  far  more 
important  than  the  series  of  events  we  saw  and 
thought  ourselves  able  to  manage. 

Thus  our  victorious  faith  should  grow  out  of 
a  vision  of  the  total  process  as  disclosed  from 
time  to  time.  This  vision  will  unfold  before  us 
if  we  give  our  minds  opportunity  to  move  with 
the  larger  current  of  events,  instead  of  imposing 
theories  and  opinions  of  our  own.  Actual  life 
as  it  develops  from  hour  to  hour  is  far  richer 
than  any  theory.  For  actual  life  includes  the 
whole — the  natural,  the  moral,  the  divine;  the 
individual  elements  and  the  social;  the  con- 
scious and  the  subconscious,  with  far-reaching 
purposes  whose  scope  our  reason  can  scarcely 
compass.  Our  part  as  intelligent  observers  is 
to  follow  reflectively,  gathering  in  the  significant 
signs  and  events,  putting  two  and  two  together, 
and  making  the  implied  meanings  explicit.  Our 
part  is  first  to  live,  then  to  learn  from  what  we 
have  participated  in,  to  live  to  the  full  and  then 
think  to  the  full.  The  more  deeply  we  under- 
stand our  own  soul's  life,  the  more  deeply  we 
shall  understand  the  inner  life  of  the  nations. 
For  it  is  all  one  great  process  at  last.     The 

221 


THE  VICTORIOUS  FAITH 

same  law  is  over  all,  the  same  destiny  is  for  all, 
the  same  Life  imbues  us  all.  That  Life  is  mak- 
ing us  fit  through  these  processes.  That  Life 
is  leading  us  beyond  our  exclusiveness  and  iso- 
lation into  the  fullness  of  being  which  we  call 
Spiritual  Democracy. 


THE   END 


BOOKS    BY 

WOODROW  WILSON 


HISTORY  OF   THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE 

The  particular  value  oj  Woodrow  Wilson  s  history  is 
its  close  approach  to  the  life  of  the  American  people  in 
each  successive  phase  of  their  history.  He  devoted  years 
of  labor  to  this  work,  the  years  in  which  he  was  teaching 
American  history  in  the  universities  and  studying  it  first 
hand  from  official  and  all  other  available  sources. 
Five  volumes,  fully  illustrated.  Cloth,  Three-quar- 
ters Calf,  or  Three-quarters  Levant 

GEORGE  WASHINGTON 

In  the  perspective  of  American  history — a  perspective 
clearer,  perhaps,  to  this  writer  than  to  any  other — the 
period  treated  is  especially  significant,  the  Revolutionary 
War,  and  the  establishtnent  of  the  Republic  on  the  firm 
basis  of  constitutional  law.       Illustrated,  Crown  8vo 

WHEN  A  MAN  COMES   TO  HIMSELF 

"  The  philosophy  of  the  little  essay  is  sound  and  the 
emphasis  it  places  on  a  mans  trying  to  bring  about 
his  own  great  awakening  makes  it  stimulating  read- 
ing."— Boston  Evening  Transcript.  i6mo 

ON  BEING  HUMAN 

"  With  his  customary  charm  of  manner  and  delicate 
instinct  for  the  nuances  and  subtleties  of  words,  Mr. 
Wilson  writes  of  human  qualities  in  books  and  men.  He 
makes  a  pleaf  or  serenity  and  wisdom." — Newark  News. 

i6mo 

THE  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 

In  this  book  Mr.  Wilson  analyzes  the  office  as  a 

part  of  our  government  and  interprets  it  iji  the  light 

of  its  historical  evolution.  l6mo 


HARPER  &   BROTHERS 
NEW  YORK       Established  1817       LONDON 


RECENT  BOOKS  OF  VERSE 


POEMS  By  Dana  Burnet 

Poems  of  to-day,  of  living  persons,  of  present 
hopes  and  fears.  There  are  stirring  poems  on  the 
great  war:  "The  Battle  of  Liege,"  "Dead  on  the 
Field  of  Honor,"  "  Sunk  by  a  Mine,"  "  The  Glory  of 
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buckler pirates  and  its  modern  canal-builders;  Poems 
About  Town  and  Dialect  Poems. 

Post  8vo,  Cloth 


DREAMS  AND  DUST  By  Don  Marquis 

A  book  of  lyrics  and  other  poems  written  in  the 
major  key  of  cheerfulness  and  hope.  "I  sting  too  hot 
with  life  to  whine,"  says  the  author.  Mr.  Marquis 
has  filled  successfully  many  different  verse  forms  with 
the  wine  of  his  interest  in  life. 

Post  8vo,  Cloth 


THE  LAUGHING  MUSE  By  Arthur  Guiterman 
A  book  of  humorous  verses  on  various  subjects  rang- 
ing from  prehistoric  beasts  to  Beriiard  Shaw.  The 
ballads  are  mock-heroic,  parodies  of  the  ballads  of 
chivalry.  In  other  verses  the  Puritans,  the  Dutch 
inhabitants  of  New  Amsterdam  are  gently  satirized. 

Post  8vo,  Cloth 


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BOOKS    ON   ASTRONOMY 


ASTRONOMY  JVITH   THE  NAKED  EYE 

By  Garrett  P.  Serviss 

Charts  in  Color 

CURIOSITIES  OF   THE  SKY 

By  Garrett  P.  Serviss 

Fully    Illustrated    from    Photographs    and    Chart 

Drawings 

ROUND    THE    YEAR    WITH    THE    STARS 

By  Garrett  P.  Serviss 

Illustrated  with  Charts 

THE  FRIENDLY  STARS 

By  Martha  Evans  Martin 

With  Diagrams 

THE  WAYS  OF  THE  PLANETS 

By  Martha  Evans  Martin 

With  Illustrations  and  Charts 

SIDELIGHTS  ON  ASTRONOMY 

By  Simon  Newcomb 

Illustrated 

THE  PITH  OF  ASTRONOMY 

Without  Mathematics 

By  Samuel  G.  Bayne 

Illustrated 


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IMPORTANT   BOOKS 


THE  OFFENDER 

Harper's  Modern  Science  Series 

By  BuRDETTE  G.  Lewis 

New  York  State  Commissioner  of  Correction 

This  book  on  prison  reform  is  for  the  general  reader 
as  well  as  for  the  judge,  the  lawyer,  the  student.  It 
enumerates  all  the  latest  theories  on  the  subject  and  the 
experiments  which  have  tested  them,  and  makes 
practical  stiggestions  for  dealing  with  the  various  phases 
of  the  many-sided  problem  of  the  offender. 

SAFETY 
By  W.   H,   Tolman   and  Leonard   B.    Kendall 

Methods  for  preventing  occupational  atid  other 
accidents  and  disease.  This  volume  is  the  result  of 
years  of  study  on  the  new  industrialism  from  the  point 
of  view  of  safeguarding  the  human  factors.  It  is 
based  on  the  best  Ajuerican  and  European  practice. 
Fully  Illustrated 

PRINCIPLES 

OF  SCIENTIFIC  MANAGEMENT 

By  Frederick  W.  Taylor 

The  author  is  the  originator  of  the  system  of  Scien- 
tific Management,  and  for  nearly  thirty  years  was  at 
work  on  the  principles  which  have  made  such  changes 
in  this  and  other  countries. 

SHOP  MANAGEMENT  By  Frederick  W.Taylor 
A  practical  exposition  of  the  theories  discussed  in 
the  foregoing. 

APPLIED  CITY  GOVERNMENT 
By  Herman  G.  James 
The  author  is  associate  professor  of  government  and 
director  of  the  bureau  of  municipal  research  and  refer- 
ence at  the  University  of  Texas.  The  subtitle  of  this 
hook  is  "  The  Principles  and  Practice  of  City  Charter- 
Making." 


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